Conferences, Seminars & Workshops

15 years of the HCCH Washington Declaration:
Conference on progress and perspectives on international family relocation

2-4 April 2025

 

Presentations
  • Session 1 - Setting the scene: The harmful effects of international child abduction and international family relocation as a potential tool to help prevent it
    • The Washington Declaration on International Family Relocation – 15 years Later - Diana Bryant, former Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, Chair of the Board of the 9th World Congress on Family Law & Children’s Rights and Chair of the Drafting Committee for the March 2010 Washington Declaration on International Family Relocation, former Member of the IHNJ
    • The impact of child abduction and relocation on children - Dr. Ruth Zitner, Psy.D.
    • The impact of depriving children of parental contact – Dr. Jorge Guerra, Member of the International Association for the Maintenance of the Best Interest of the Child (IAMBIC), International Council on Shared Parenting (ICSP)
    • Overview of international family relocation - Professor Robert George KC, University College London, Barrister at Harcourt Chambers
  • Session 3 - States with specific relocation procedures
    • Canada - Judge Gwen B. Hatch, Associate Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba (Family Division), Winnipeg, Member of the
      IHNJ
    • Chile – Javiera Verdugo Toro, Lawyer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    • South Africa - Ronaldah Lerato Karabo Ozah, Director of Centre for Child Law, University of Pretoria
    • United Arab Emirates - Awatif Al Khouri, IAFL Fellow, and Dr. Hassan Elhais, Co-Chair of the IAFL Relocation Committee, IAFL Fellow - Presentation by: Awatif Al Khouri
  • Session 4 - States that follow case law or guidelines in relocation cases
    • Australia - Diana Bryant, former Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, Chair of the Board of the 9th World Congress on Family Law & Children’s Rights and Chair of the Drafting Committee for the March 2010 Washington Declaration on International Family Relocation, former Member of the IHNJ
    • India - Anil Malhotra, Secretary of the IAFL Relocation Committee, IAFL
      Fellow
    • UK (England & Wales) – Lord Justice Stephen Cobb, Court of Appeal Judge, Royal Courts of Justice, London
    • USA - Hiram Puig-Lugo, Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Washington D.C., Member of the IHNJ
  • Session 5 - States that follow case law or guidelines in relocation cases
    • Argentina - Judge Marcela Sandra Trillini, Judge in charge of the Family Court No 9, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Member of the IHNJ
    • France - Anthony Manwaring, Magistrat de liaison, Embassy of France in Washington DC
    • Hungary - Soma Kölcsényi, IAFL Fellow (Handout)
    • Spain - Lola Lopez-Muelas, President of AEAFA, IAFL Fellow
  • Session 6 - States that utilise best interests assessments as guidelines in relocation cases
    • Brazil - Judge Guilherme Calmon Nogueira Da Gama, Vice-President, Regional Federal Court of the Second Region, Rio de Janeiro, Member of the IHNJ
    • Germany - Judge Martina Erb-Klünemann, Judge of the Family Court, District Court of Hamm, Member of the IHNJ
    • Mexico - Judge Oscar Gregorio Cervera Rivero, Family Magistrate, Superior Court of Justice of Mexico City, Member of the IHNJ
    • Netherlands - Judge Annette C. Olland, Family Law and International Child Protection Division, District Court of The Hague, Member of the
      IHNJ
  • Session 7 - Research & Policy work on international family relocation
    • International Social Service (ISS) - Marc Bauer, Deputy Director, ISS Germany
    • Asociación Internacional de Juristas de Derecho de Familia (AIJUDEFA) - Patricia Kuyumdjian de Williams, President of AIJUDEFA, IAFL Fellow
    • International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) - Anna Worwood, Co-Chair of the IAFL Relocation Committee, IAFL Fellow
    • Global Research on Relocation - Professor Marilyn Freeman, Co-Director, International Centre for Family Law, Policy and Practice; Principal Research Fellow, University of Westminster; Chair, International Association of Child Law Researchers (IACLaR); 4PB Door Tenant; IAFL Associate Fellow, and Professor Nicola Taylor, Faculty of Law, University of Otago, New Zealand; Secretary, International Association of Child Law Researchers (IACLaR); IAFL Associate Fellow
  • Concluding remarks - Philippe Lortie, First Secretary, HCCH

Conventions (incl. Protocols and Principles)