Divorcing parents will inevitably have to face the decision about how they will divide custody of their children. While determining child custody can be an emotional process, in many cases a child will ending up seeing each parent some amount of the time. But in unusual cases, a parent may remove a child from the country, denying the other parent the ability to spend time with the child.

But legislation introduced by New Jersey Representative Chris Smith is aimed at addressing instances where a parent relocates a child to a foreign country without the other parent’s consent. The bill would expand the federal government’s rights under a three-decade-old treaty called the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Under that agreement, a court must first sign off on a custody arrangement before a parent removes a child from the country.

Specifically, the bill would provide the United States government some avenues to persuade the foreign government to return the child. For example, the bill would authorize the withholding of trade and credits from the foreign government. Any penalties against a foreign country would not be automatic, however. If there are overriding diplomatic issues, penalties could be withheld, but the government could issue a reprimand.

While there are a few high-profile child relocation cases, there are a number that do not receive signification press attention. The State Department reports that parents removed approximately 4,700 children from the United States from 2008 to 2010 alone. One high-profile case involved a New Jersey parent whose wife suddenly took their son to Brazil. It took years before he got his son back. The bill bears their names to memorialize their reunification.

Source: MyCentralJersey.com, “International N.J. custody dispute spurs legislation for sanctions,” Malia Rulon Herman, Mar. 27, 2012.