International Child Abduction
& Contact Unit (ICACU)
81 Chancery Lane
London
WC2A 1DD
Directors of Children’s Services
DX 0012 London Chancery Lane
Tel:
020 7911 7206
Fax:
020 7911 7105
E-Mail: Devone. Lawrence@offsol.gsi.gov.uk
Web: www.justice.gov.uk
Our Ref: ICACU
Prev Ref:
Your Ref:
23 August 2012
Dear Colleague,
1996 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children
The UK Government has deposited its instrument of ratification of the 1996 Hague
Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in
respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children. The
Convention will therefore be in force in the UK with effect from 1 November 2012.
The Convention is given legal effect in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the Parental
Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (International Obligations)
(England and Wales and Northern Island) Regulations 2010 under which the Lord Chancellor
is the designated Central Authority in England.
I am writing to you because the Lord Chancellor has delegated the operational day to day
duties of the Central Authority in England to the International Child Abduction and Contact
Unit (ICACU) which is based in the office of the Official Solicitor. The ICACU already
discharges the operational day to day duties of the Central Authority under a number of other
international agreements including the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction.
In Wales the functions of the Central Authority will be discharged by the Welsh Ministers, in
Northern Ireland by the Department of Justice, and in Scotland by the Scottish Ministers.
The Convention covers a wide range of civil measures of protection concerning children and
is aimed at improving the protection of children - for example, countries participating in the
Convention can request authorities in other countries to provide assistance in locating a child
where it appears that the child may be present and in need of protection in another
contracting state, in implementing measures of protection and in providing reports on the
child’s situation. Authorities in this country may be asked to respond to such requests from
abroad or may wish to make such requests in relation to children known to them who have
moved abroad; information cannot however be requested or sent if it might endanger the
child's person or property or seriously threaten the life or liberty of a member of the child's
family.
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The Convention also requires that if an authority in one contracting state is contemplating the
placement of a child in a foster family or institutional care in another contracting state,
permission must first be obtained from the competent authority in that state.
Requests made for information about the whereabouts and situation of a child both by local
authorities here, and by other contracting states may be made through the ICACU.
The ICACU already discharges similar functions under a European Regulation (Council
Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003) known as Brussels IIa. In Brussels IIa cases the ICACU
makes direct contact with Directors of Social Services who will delegate or co-ordinate a
response as necessary. Although the ICACU is aware of the published list of designated
managers in local authorities with responsibility for managing notifications of the movement
of vulnerable children into and out of their local authority area - see
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/safeguardingchildren/
we are not sure how up to date or appropriate this list is for the purpose of the operation of
the 1996 Hague Convention
With a view to ensuring that the administrative systems are in place for the date of
implementation of the Convention (1 November 2012) I would be grateful if you could confirm
the name and contact details of the person in your authority who should be contacted in the
first instance in relation to any request received by the ICACU under the 1996 Hague
Convention involving your local authority. We are particularly concerned that clear channels
of communication are established in time for implementation of the Convention, having
regard to the fact that assistance can be requested to discover the whereabouts of a child
where it appears that the child may be present and in need of protection in this country.
I would therefore be grateful if you could provide the following information to me at
Devone.Lawrence@offsol.gsi.gov.uk by no later than 30 September 2012:
Name of contact person:
Title:
Local Authority:
Telephone Number:
E-Mail Address:
Postal Address:
It may of assistance if I draw your attention to the fact that the Department for Education is
currently drafting guidance to support local authorities when dealing with cross-border child
protection cases under the Convention. You may also wish to draw to the attention of your
legal department that a President’s Practice Guide will also be published to assist legal
practitioners.
For future communications and contact post implementation of the Convention,
please direct your query to, the joint Heads of the ICACU:
Miss Victoria Damrell
tel.: +44 (207) 911 7047
victoria.damrell@offsol.gsi.gov.uk
margaret.soboyejo@offsol.gsi.gov.uk
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Mrs Margaret Soboyejo
tel.: +44 (207) 911 7045
The International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU)
Official Solicitor and Public Trustee
3rd Floor
81 Chancery Lane
LONDON WC2A 1DD
Yours sincerely
Devone Lawrence
International Child Abduction and Contact Unit
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