In view of the summer holidays and the busy holiday period, the Ministry of Justice reminds parents that when a child travels, both parents should be aware of the whereabouts of the child they share. The act of one parent taking a unilateral decision to stay with a child in another country for an extended period of time, substantially limiting the other parent's rights of custody and access, is also known in law as civil child abduction.
Cases where one parent abducts or detains a child in another country without the consent of the other parent, in violation of the other parent's custody rights, are governed by the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Convention), which has been in force in Latvia since 1 February 2002. For the purposes of the Convention, child abduction occurs when a person's right to custody established by law, a court decision or an agreement having the force of law is violated.
Each country that has ratified the Convention has a responsible central authority to help deal with such matters. In Latvia, the Ministry of Justice acts as the central authority.
The Ministry of Justice, in the exercise of its functions under the Hague Convention, ensures the processing of requests from parents of children concerning the unlawful removal of their children, and the transmission to the competent authority of the foreign country concerned. The competent authority abroad is entitled to decide whether an unlawful removal has taken place under the Convention and the child should be returned to Latvia or not.
This means that if the Ministry of Justice receives a request from a person (a parent) that the whereabouts of the child in another country are unknown, the Ministry of Justice will take the steps set out in the Convention to get involved in the situation. The Ministry of Justice refers the request of the child's parents concerning the unlawful removal of the child to the competent authority of the foreign country concerned. The competent authority abroad is entitled to decide whether an unlawful removal has taken place within the scope of the Convention and whether the child should be returned to Latvia or not. For more information on the obligations under the Hague Convention: https://www.tm.gov.lv/lv/regulejosie-normativie-akti
On average, the Ministry of Justice receives 30-40 new requests per year for the return of children to their country of habitual residence under the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This includes both requests for the return of children from a foreign country to Latvia and vice versa.
Information on how to proceed and where to turn for help in cases of unlawful removal of a child to another country is available on the website of the Ministry of Justice.