Synopsis: While living in Chile, a British citizen and his wife, a U.S. citizen, separated and various orders were entered in Chilean family courts regarding the custody of their son including direct and regular visitation rights to the father, including a month in the summer. Both parents were prohibited by statute and court order from removing the son from Chile without notifying the other and obtaining written authorization from the court. The wife subsequently took the couple’s son to Texas where the father located them four months through a private investigator. In a federal district court suit in Texas, the wife conceded that her removal violated Chilean law but the court concluded that “the court concluded that the removal was not “wrongful” within the meaning of the Hague Convention because petitioner’s ne exeat right did not constitute a right of custody under the Convention.” The Fifth Circuit affirmed. The issue presented to the Supreme Court by petitioner is as follows:

The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction requires a country to return a child who has been “wrongfully removed” from his country of habitual residence. Hague Convention art. 12. A “wrongful removal” is one that occurs “in breach of rights of custody.” Id. art. 3. The question presented is: Whether a ne exeat clause (that is, a clause that prohibits one parent from removing a child from the country without the other parent’s consent) confers a “right of custody” within the meaning of the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction.

Previous Opinions

1. Abbott v. Abbott, 495 F. Supp. 2d 635 (W.D. Tex. 2007).
2. Abbott v. Abbott, 542 F.3d 1081 (C.A. 5, Sept. 16, 2008)

Filings

Supreme Court Docket for Abbott v. Abbott, No. 08-645

• Nov 14 2008 Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 17, 2008)
• Dec 17 2008 Brief amicus curiae of the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law
• Dec 18 2008 Order extending time to file response to petition to and including December 29, 2008.
• Dec 29 2008 Brief of respondent Jacquelyn Vaye Abbott in opposition filed. (Distributed)
• Dec 30 2008 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of January 16, 2009.
• Dec 31 2008 Reply of petitioner Timothy Mark Cameron Abbott filed. (Distributed)

Statutes

HAGUE CONVENTION ON THE CIVIL ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION

News and Analysis

• SCOTUSblog: New Filing in Abbott v. Abbott