Progress and Perspectives on International Family Relocations

The Judges’ Newsletter is an open-access biannual publication of of the Hague Conference on Private International Law devoted to judicial co-operation in the international protection of children.

The latest issue tbrings together the contributions presented at the conference entitled 15 Years of the HCCH Washington Declaration – Progress and Perspectives on International Family Relocation, which took place in April 2025 at the Embassy of Canada in Washington, jointly organised by the Embassy of Canada in Washington, the International Academy of Family Lawyers and the Hague Conference itself.

A report on the conference was published on this blog a few months ago.

The issue follows the structure of the conference, with more than 30 contributions – including several national reports – dealing with the following topics: Setting the scene: The harmful effects of international child abduction and international family relocation as a potential tool to help prevent it; International family relocation – State of play; States with specific relocation procedures; States that follow case law or guidelines in relocation cases; States that utilise best interests assessments as guidelines in relocation cases; Research & Policy work on international family relocation; The use of alternative dispute resolution and other services in cases of international family relocation.

All the issues of the Judges’ Newsletter can be found here.