Details

From 19 to 21 May 2025, the Fourth Global Meeting of the International Hague Network of Judges (IHNJ) was held in Singapore, co-hosted by the Singapore Family Justice Courts and the HCCH. It was attended by over 50 judges representing 34 HCCH Members.

The meeting consisted of 18 sessions, bringing together experts from over 20 States. Following the opening remarks, the first session set the stage with a review of key HCCH and IHNJ developments since the previous IHNJ Global Meeting in 2018. The second session provided the state of play of the IHNJ, focusing on its structure and relationship with other judicial networks. In the third session, participants discussed ways to enhance communication, cooperation, and mutual support and assistance among members, while in the fourth session the discussion shifted to IHNJ members’ relationship with key stakeholders at the domestic level. The fifth and sixth sessions were dedicated to promoting direct judicial communications. They were followed, in the seventh session, by a discussion of domestic / regional procedures applicable to cases under the 1980 Child Abduction Convention, particularly with a view to facilitate expedition. In the eighth session, the speakers provided examples of implementation of the Emerging Guidance and General Principles for direct judicial communications in domestic laws.

The next four sessions examined the role of the IHNJ in, respectively, promoting and supporting the use of HCCH guidance materials; ascertaining whether protective measures are available and enforceable in the State of habitual residence to secure the safe return of the child in cases of international abduction; coordinating issues of jurisdiction (including transfer) under the 1996 Child Protection Convention; and facilitating the obtaining of the child’s views in a cross-border context. During the thirteenth session, participants discussed sharing the content of direct judicial communications with the parties to a dispute. Finally, the last five sessions focused on the IHNJ’s expansion, INCADAT, the IHNJ Secure Platform, the Judges’ Newsletter on International Child Protection, and possible topics for future online IHNJ meetings.

Across their various interventions, participants illustrated how the IHNJ, which was established in 1998, continues to serve as an essential mechanism for facilitating international cooperation and communication between judges in international family law cases. The Conclusions and Recommendations adopted during the Fourth Global Meeting of the IHNJ are now available on the HCCH website in English and will be made available in French and Spanish in due course.

For more information on the IHNJ, please visit its dedicated section on the HCCH website. More information on the 1980 Child Abduction and 1996 Child Protection Conventions is available on the Child Abduction and Child Protection Sections of the HCCH website.

The Permanent Bureau of the HCCH is grateful to the Singapore Family Justice Courts for its hospitality and generous support of the Fourth Global Meeting of the IHNJ.