Central authority for England and Wales
The United Kingdom is a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 and the European Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of Custody of Children.
The Lord Chancellor is designated by the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 as the Central Authority for England & Wales and Northern Ireland, in Scotland the Secretary of State is the Central Authority. The duties of the Central Authority in England & Wales are carried out by the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) which is the designated Central Authority for England & Wales. It is responsible for administering the work of the conventions under the administrative control of the Official Solicitor to the Supreme Court, an independent, quasi-judicial figure whose function is to give confidential advice to the judges, assist the court and represent the interests of those under legal disability. The ICACU is also the designated Central Authority under the Revised Brussels II Regulation, having been appointed in accordance with article 67 of the Regulation.
Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own Central Authorities.
Internation Judicial Liaison - The Office of the Head of International Family Justice
The Office of the Head of International Family Justice was created as a consequence of Lord Justice Thorpe’s appointment in January 2005 as Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales, by the Lord Chief Justice, then Lord Woolf, and the Lord Chancellor.
The creation of this office was an essential step in managing the steady and continuing growth of the demands of international family litigation. The office deals with a range of legal queries and correspondence from both internal and external sources (judges, practitioners and other officials in the field of international family law) including direct correspondence with foreign judges.
The office:
• advises on legal issues related, but not limited, to international child abduction and relocation, including specific issues arising under Brussels II Revised and the 1980 Hague Convention. In this respect, we liaise regularly with our European Judicial Network and Hague Network judicial contacts, for the purposes of assisting, where we can, in the smooth-running of these complex cross-border cases;
• provides assistance in responding to developments in European and international family law and policy and in managing arrangements for international conferences;
• provides assistance, where we can, to domestic and foreign judges and practitioners dealing with non-Hague abduction and other family law matters;
• liaises with MoJ, FCO, International Child Abduction and Contact Unit, as well as European and International bodies.
The office can be contacted by telephoning: 0207 947 7906 or by writing to: louise.mckechnie@judiciary.gsi.gov.uk