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España: Juana Rivas se reencuentra con sus hijos en Italia




La mujer de Granada se ha encontrado con los menores este mediodía, cuando su pareja Francesco Arcuri se los ha entregado. 

“Cuando nos hemos visto me han dicho ‘guapa, guapa’, me han acariciado la cara, ha sido muy emotivo, teníamos mucha ilusión”, relató Rivas, la vecina de Maracena (Granada) a la que un juzgado ha condenado a cinco años de cárcel por dos delitos de sustracción de menores.

Ha contado también que solo les explicó a los menores que iban a poder verse en Italia cuando el Tribunal de Cagliari, encargado de decidir sobre la custodia de los dos niños, ratificó este encuentro el pasado 6 de agosto.

Rivas ha sido condenada por el Juzgado de lo Penal 1 de Granada a cinco años de cárcel y a seis de inhabilitación para la patria potestad de sus dos hijos por permanecer en paradero desconocido el verano pasado junto a ellos para no entregárselos al padre.

Rivas ha sido condenada a cinco años de cárcel y a seis de inhabilitación para la patria potestad de sus dos hijos

El fallo, frente al que ha anunciado un recurso de apelación ante la Audiencia, le condena a pagar las costas procesales, incluidas las de la acusación, y a indemnizar con 30.000 euros a su expareja y padre de sus hijos, condenado en 2009 por maltrato y al que volvió a denunciar en 2016.

Paralelamente, enfrenta un proceso civil sobre la custodia de los menores que lleva desde noviembre un juzgado del Tribunal de Cagliari. Rivas tendrá que acudir a este tribunal el próximo 26 de septiembre, cuando se celebre la vista definitiva por la custodia.

Fuente: La Vanguardia

El PP propone combatir la sustracción de menores exigiendo el permiso de sus dos progenitores para salir del país



El PP propone combatir la sustracción de menores exigiendo el permiso de sus dos progenitores para salir del país

MADRID, 9 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) - El PP exige medidas al Gobierno para evitar la sustracción de menores por parte de uno de sus progenitores y propone que la salida del país de un niño deba estar acompañada del consentimiento expreso de ambos padres y otorgado con las garantías necesarias. A través de una proposición no de ley registrada en el Congreso, para su debate en la Comisión de Interior, los 'populares' alertan del aumento de esta práctica por la que se interpusieron más de 260 ...


Parental child abductions are becoming a serious human rights violation in Japan



Bolan Times ( GENEVA ) : Bolan Times correspondent in Geneva Switzerland exclusively interviewed a well-known Japanese human rights activist Mr. Shunichi Fujiki who visited ongoing 38th United Nations Human Rights Council on 25th of June.

In this interview, Mr. Fujiki pointed out some faulty regal system of Japan which has been exploited by malevolent Japanese lawyers as well as foreign lawyers in Japan who exploits the loophole of the current Japanese law.

Mr. Fujiki said, when marital status fails for some reason, the couple often competes for parental custody of the children at family court, because in Japanese law, joint custody is not allowed after divorce. Often parent become unable to see his or her children for years.

This happens because, sometimes one of the couple file a false “Domestic Violence Report” to secure “parental custody,” request the city official to conceal his or her residential information.

Once he or she is labeled as “dangerous parent” through false accusations, there is no way for him or her to locate their children.

In some case, by luck, if one of the couple found his or her child and attempt to talk to their child, they can be arrested and sentenced to at least six months in jail.

He continued “Such a lifelong separation from a parent is not healthy for the children and many of these abducted children suffer from mental illness as a result of the abduction and forced separation. “

“Japanese Government needs to adopt a measure to acknowledge joint custody so that the damage to the abandoned parent and the abducted children will be minimized. “

Further he mentioned about Hague Convention which Japan signed in April 2014 but hasn’t implemented. This caused child abduction internationally due to the same reason as domestic child abduction which is caused by single parental custody system.

He is requesting the Japanese Government to implement it immediately so that separation of a parent and children does not occur between the two nations.

At his intervention, he informed United Nations that Parental Child abductions are becoming a serious Human Rights Violation in Japan.

In his intervention he said that “The abducted child is at the mercy of the abducting parent, the child can no longer go home and forced to sever the relationship with the abandoned parent. Japanese courts tend to grant “Parental Custody” to the parent, who keeps the child, even if the parent forcefully removed the child away from the other parent.”

Talking about the reason he mentioned “this occurs because, under the current system, once a spouse claims to be a victim of domestic violence, even though false, the new address won’t be released to the other spouse. Further, this system is abused by many divorce lawyers for their own monetary benefit, and they instigate parents to whisk away their children to a new town, and usually falsely claim domestic violence.”

He further added that “These lawyers promote divorce at all cost without any consideration of the detrimental effects on the abducted children. The children have a basic right to be loved by both parents and live with them in a loving environment.”

“However, in Japan, many children are deprived of this basic right because of the current system and crooked lawyers.“

Mr. Shunichi Fujiki, Representative of International Career Support Association, appealed United Nations and ended that “We sincerely ask the Council to help those children who are suffering from the severed relationship with their parents.

Some of the victims in the United States are holding rallies to get their children back to them after they divorced with Japanese wives and U.S. Congress has been holding hearings from the victims whose children have been abducted by one of the parents.

España: El abogado de Juana Rivas se va del juicio “a la francesa”, forzando su suspensión.


Juan de Dios Ramírez, el abogado de Juana Rivas, se ha ido del juicio “a la francesa”, pese a las serias advertencias del magistrado, Manuel Piñar Díaz, lo que provocó la suspensión del juicio contra la mujer, que debía celebrarse hoy en el Juzgado de lo Penal 1 de Granada.

Renunció a su defensa de la forma más teatral posible: levantándose y abandonando físicamente los estrados, dejando a Rivas atrás sola, sentada en banquillo de los acusados. Fue su forma de responder a la negativa del magistrado a que suspendier la vista.

El magistrado Piñar Díaz le prohibió expresamente que abandonara la Sala, pero el letrado hizo caso omiso de sus palabras. Después el magistrado calificó lo sucedido como de “esperpento” y anunció que informaría de su conducta a la Fiscalía, al Juzgado de Guardia y al Colegio de Abogados de Sevilla.

Tras la marcha del letrado, Piñar Díaz ha dado a Juana Rivas tres días de plazo para que elija otro abogado o se le designará uno de oficio, de modo que la vista pueda celebrarse el 18 de julio a las 9,30 horas.

“Le agradezco que se haya ido, lo ha hecho para respetar mi decisión” ha dicho después Juana a los medios de comunicación a su salida del Juzgado.

La mujer ha incidido en que todo esto no es ninguna “estrategia”, sino que ella se ha preparado el caso con el otro letrado del caso, José Estanislao López, y su deseo es que él la represente, aunque ahora está de baja por un problema en una pierna que le impide acudir al juicio.

El juicio previsto este jueves debía enjuiciar a Juana Rivas por dos delitos de sustración de menores al haber estado un mes en paradero desconocido incumpliendo la orden judicial que le obligaba a entregar a sus dos hijos, de once y tres años, al padre, al que acusó de malos tratos.

La Fiscalía solicita para ella un total de cinco años de prisión por esos dos delitos y también pide que sea inhabilitada durante seis años para ejercer el derecho de patria potestad sobre los niños.

El exmarido, Francesco Arcuri, personado en la causa como acusación particular, ha solicitado igualmente cinco años de prisión y ocho años de inhabilitación para ejercer la patria potestad sobre los niños. En concepto de responsabilidad civil, el padre de los menores reclama que su expareja le abone por los “daños materiales y morales ocasionados” una indemnización de 30.000 euros.

Enrique Zambrano, abogado de Arcuri, ha calificado lo ocurrido de “surrealista” y lo considera una “maniobra dilatoria” para evitar que una posible condena a Juana Rivas en este caso pueda influir en el proceso que se sigue en Italia para decidir sobre la custodia de los niños.

Se ha posicionado igual que la Fiscalía y el juez respecto a que Juana Rivas eligió en su momento a este abogado para poder defenderla y él a su vez ha firmado el escrito de defensa del caso. “Venir ahora diciendo que no conoce las actuaciones me parece bastante irresponsable”, “es muy lejano de la realidad”, ha agregado.

A juicio del letrado esta actuación va “a tener consecuencias porque se va a deducir testimonio por delito de desobediencia muy posiblemente –según ha augurado– porque se le ha advertido tres veces de que se sentara y ejerciera su obligación como letrado de Juana Rivas”.

Juana Rivas ha añadido que lamentaba que “no quieran esperar” a que su abogado esté bien de salud y pueda desplazarse a Granada.

“No soy ninguna delincuente, todos los sabéis, estoy defendiendo a mis niños y lo voy a seguir haciendo, aquí, en Italia y donde haga falta”, ha dicho.

LA JORNADA

Juana Rivas ha llegado al edificio judicial de La Caleta sobre las 9,45 horas acompañada por el abogado Juan de Dios Ramírez, su hermana y, entre otros, la asesora jurídica del Centro de la Mujer de Maracena, Francisca Granados, que inicialmente estuvo investigada en la causa.

Rodeada de una nube de periodistas se ha mostrado confiada en que la Justicia se pondrá de su parte y que seguirá “luchando”.

“Claro que soy inocente y se va a demostrar muy pronto”, ha agregado.

Al inicio de la vista, el letrado Juan de Dios Ramírez ha vuelto a pedir la suspensión del juicio alegando que se ha desvinculado en los últimos tiempos de la defensa de la madre de Maracena, de modo que no ha tenido tiempo para prepararse este juicio y ofrecerle una “defensa justa”; además de que Juana Rivas desea que sea José Estanislao quien la represente por tener depositada su “confianza plena en él”.

El juez Piñar Díaz ha denegado la suspensión al entender, entre otros extremos, que si el letrado Juan de Dios Ramírez ha suscrito el escrito de defensa es porque ha ultimado todos los trámites del procedimiento penal, por lo que de aceptar la suspensión “tendría que sancionarle” porque “¿qué clase de profesional sería usted?”, le ha advertido.

La Fiscalía ha ratificado el informe remitido el miércoles al juez en el que se oponía a la suspensión, alegando que ambos letrados fueron “indistintamente” designados para la defensa y toda vez que hasta ese momento no constaba resolución alguna por la que se tenga por expresamente apartado del procedimiento” a Juan de Dios Ramírez, lo que ha sido apoyado por la acusación particular ejercida por la expareja de Juana Rivas.

Finalmente, el abogado ha renunciado a defenderla y se ha marchado, por lo que el juez ha dado a Juana Rivas tres días de plazo para que elija otro abogado o se le designará uno de oficio, de modo que la vista pueda celebrarse el 18 de julio a las 9,30 horas. La madre de Maracena ha dicho que no quiere “ningún abogado de oficio” y que estudiará ahora con sus letrados los pasos a seguir. “No soy abogado, soy madre” y esto es lo que “yo quiero para defenderme”.

Rivas ha llegado a “suplicar” al juez durante la vista que sea su letrado de confianza quien la represente pero éste le ha advertido de que esto “no es serio”: “El abogado que usted ha elegido se ha levantado y se ha ido” y el otro está “enfermo” y “no sabemos cuándo se va a recuperar”.

“Es increíble”, ha llegado a decir, reconociendo que esto no le había pasado en sus 33 años de trayectoria y ha recordado a Rivas que “si no viene” puede ordenar su detención “porque le piden más de dos años de prisión”.

“MANIOBRA DILATORIA”

Juana Rivas ha garantizado no obstante que ella acudirá siempre que sea citada, al igual que ha ido hoy “a dar la cara”, agradeciendo a su letrado que también lo haya hecho.

Por su parte, la asesora jurídica del Centro de la Mujer de Maracena, Francisca Granados, que ha llevado el caso de Juana y ha acudido al juicio como testigo ha incidido en que “elegir abogado para un juicio de estas características”, en el que “se está jugando tanto”, es “un derecho fundamental”.

Fuentes de la Fiscalía han informado a Europa Press de que en todo caso este asunto no se valorará ahora, sino “en otro momento y como un procedimiento aparte para determinar si tiene trascendencia penal o disciplinaria”. Las fuentes agregan que el principal objetivo ahora del Ministerio Público es que este juicio se celebre en un “plazo razonable”. EP.


Step forward for campaign to close legal ‘loophole’ on child abduction in Scotland

Yousif Ahmed

CAMPAIGNERS against the abduction of children by a parent have hailed a Scottish Government consultation on a change in the law as a “positive development”.
Scottish ministers are under pressure to close a “loophole” which means a parent can’t always be prosecuted if they take a child overseas from Scotland without the consent of the other parent.

If a child is taken overseas from England and Wales it is a criminal offense under the Child Abduction Act 1984 but the law only applies in Scotland if a court order preventing travel is already in place.

Lawyer Yousif Ahmed, from Glasgow, is leading a campaign to remove the requirement for a court order so that Scotland’s law on child abduction is brought into line with the rest of the UK.
A meeting between campaigners and Scottish Government officials was held this week after it was announced that the so-called loophole will be examined as part of a wider consultation on family law reform.
Ahmed said: “The current Scottish framework fails to protect children and parents in Scotland and far too many children and parents have been let down by a loophole that fails to protect them from this abuse.
“Scottish ministers need to take action to address this ongoing problem. In a joint effort, we have highlighted in great detail the various shortcomings and failures that exist in the Scottish framework and the changes that are needed.
“The Scottish Government has heard the voice of the campaign and has taken our message on board. We are very pleased that as a result of our campaign work, it has now issued a consultation on proposals to reform the law. This is a fantastic achievement within a short space of time.”
Scottish Government figures show the number of international child abduction cases have risen over the last 10 years, from two cases in 2007 to 20 cases in 2016.
The government consultation on the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 is “seeking views on how civil and criminal child abduction by parents can be further prevented”.

The consultation states there may be a need for a “minor change” to Section 2 of the 1995 Act which would mean a court order is no longer required for it to be an offense to remove a child from Scotland without appropriate consent.
Ahmed, who is director of legal services at Cannons Law Practice, added: “I would ask everyone to get behind this extremely positive development by encouraging the Scottish Government to implement the proposals set out in the consultation and effect the positive legislative change that is needed in Scotland.
“Together, we can make a difference and achieve a positive and lasting change that will help to protect children and parents all across the country from this abuse.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “There is already legislation in place making it an offence in Scotland for a person connected with a child under 16 to take or send the child out of the UK without the appropriate consent where a court order is in place awarding custody of the child to another person or prohibiting removal of the child from the UK.
“Depending on the circumstances of the case, someone suspected of child abduction may also be charged with the common law offenses of abduction or plagium.
“The consultation on the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 seeks views on a range of issues, including whether to change the law in Scotland on parental child abduction and we welcome the constructive contribution from campaigners on this issue.”

Peter Swindon @PeterSwindon 
Senior reporter, Sunday Herald

España: Retención ilícita de dos hermanos en Barcelona



El pasado 17 de mayo 2018, hemos impartido una capacitación en sustracción de niños en la Asociación de Abogados Independientes en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, hemos trabajado con la sentencia "Mauricio y Cristina" sobre la retención ilícita de Mar y Pol en Barcelona, dos hermanitos de 4 y 2 años. Como abogados representantes del padre, logramos su restitución en 66 días a Costa Rica donde era su residencia habitual.

En el día de hoy Mauricio, padre de los niños, nos hace llegar este video, en agradecimiento a nuestra colaboración y para compartir su alegría de tenerlos consigo. Pol y Mar , crecen sanos y felices en San José de Costa Rica con su familia!!!
Muchas gracias por compartirlo!

Denuncian el secuestro de un niño en Huelva: el padre apunta a la madre polaca


El secuestro de David ha sido denunciado este martes. Foto difundida por la familia en redes sociales.


Denuncian el secuestro de un niño en Huelva: el padre apunta a la madre polaca

El padre es un ciudadano británico de 38 años vecino de La Antilla.
El hombre señala que se lo debería haber entregado este domingo.
La mujer, según el progenitor, tenía que haberlo devuelto por la tarde tras pasar el fin de semana con ella, pero no lo hizo.
29 mayo, 2018 

La Guardia Civil investiga en Huelva el presunto secuestro de un menor de seis años del que su padre, que ha denunciado los hechos, sospecha que la autora podría ser la madre del niño y su expareja, de nacionalidad polaca y de 48 años de edad, que cree que "podría habérselo llevado a su país".

Según han confirmado desde la Benemérita, los hechos ya están denunciados y se están investigando, mientras que el padre, un ciudadano británico de 38 años vecino de La Antilla (Lepe), ha señalado que se lo debería haber entregado este domingo por la tarde tras pasar el fin de semana con ella y no lo hizo.

En declaraciones a Europa Press, el padre ha asegurado que cuenta con la custodia del menor y que ha interpuesto este lunes la denuncia al no dar con el paradero ni de la madre, que también vive en Lepe, ni del niño y sospecha que ésta se lo haya podido llevar a Polonia.

Por su parte, en declaraciones a los periodistas en Huelva el coronel jefe de la Comandancia de Huelva, Ezequiel Romero, ha señalado este martes que, en un principio, "no tienen por qué considerar un secuestro" la desaparición de este menor.

Al respecto, ha precisado que "parece que es un problema familiar, ya que un padre, de nacionalidad inglesa, denuncia a la madre de su hijo, de nacionalidad polaca, porque no se lo ha devuelto", a lo que ha añadido que esta mujer "no contesta al móvil, lo ha apagado y estamos investigando el motivo de la desaparición y dónde están".
No se descarta ninguna posibilidad

Preguntado por la sospecha del padre de que la madre podría haberse llevado el niño a Polonia, Romero ha manifestado que "todo es posible y no podemos descartar ninguna posibilidad".

Por último, la subdelegada del Gobierno, Asunción Grávalos, ha señalado que si la Guardia Civil lo considera necesario, se pondrán en contacto con la embajada para buscar al niño, a lo que ha añadido que se seguirán todos los protocolos diseñados para estos casos.

Fuente: El Español

Seminario Restitución Internacional de Menores - 6 de Junio 2018


Seminario Restitución Internacional de Menores 

Argentina: Este 6 de Junio "Seminario de Restitución Internacional de Niños" 14hs Palacio San Martin Salón Libertador. Requiere Inscripción Previa. Nos vemos allí!

España: Disponible en la web del Ministerio el nuevo protocolo de actuación en caso de Sustracción Parental:

Ya está disponible en la web del Ministerio el nuevo protocolo de actuación en caso de Sustracción Parental. 

Situaciones de riesgo: 
Hijo menor de 16 años Pareja en situación de conflicto 
Que reside habitualmente en España 
Si se encuentra en esta situación, puede ser víctima de una sustracción internacional de menores, si el menor es trasladado de forma ilícita a otro estado. 
Si esto ocurre, deberá actuarse con la máxima celeridad, para iniciar un procedimiento civil de restitución. 

Se recomienda presentar CON CARÁCTER INMEDIATO solicitud de restitución ante el MINISTERIO DE JUSTICIA, si el país en el que se encuentra el menor es un Estado miembro de la Unión Europea o cualquiera de los países firmantes del Convenio de La Conferencia de La Haya de 25 de octubre de 1980 sobre los Aspectos Civiles de la Sustracción Internacional de Menores, adjuntando los siguientes documentos: 

Actuaciones a realizar:

El formulario de solicitud 
Documentación que acredite la filiación del menor (copia del certificado de nacimiento y del libro de familia) 
Certificado del colegio o guardería que indique expresamente el periodo en el que el menor ha asistido Certificado de empadronamiento y documento que acredite la residencia habitual del menor en España (tarjeta sanitaria del menor, permisos de residencia del/la sustractor/a, certificados de vida laboral del/la sustractor/a 
Cualquier resolución judicial relacionada con el menor 
Datos de localización del menor con fotografías del menor y del/la sustractor/a 

PROTOCOLO DE SUSTRACCIÓN DE MENORES 

Si el país en el que se encuentra el menor, NO es un país firmante del Convenio de la Haya se aconseja poner el caso en conocimiento del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, que informará a la Embajada o Consulado de España correspondiente y se evaluará el modo de actuación más conveniente. 

En muchos casos, se deberá iniciar un procedimiento judicial de restitución ANTE LOS TRIBUNALES DEL PAÍS en que se encuentre el menor: Sin perjuicio de instar la vía civil, si usted considera que pueda haber un delito de sustracción de menores, puede interponer denuncia en una dependencia de las FUERZAS Y CUERPOS DE SEGURIDAD DEL ESTADO competentes por una presunta comisión de un delito de sustracción de menores contemplada en el artículo 225 bis del Código Penal. 

Contenido mínimo de la denuncia: Datos identificativos del menor y del progenitor presunto sustractor (especial referencia a la edad, circunstancias personales del menor y posibles vínculos con terceros países) 

Descripción física del menor y del progenitor presunto sustractor 

Fotografía actualizada del menor y del progenitor presunto sustractor 

Documentación que acredite la filiación del menor (copia auténtica del certificado de nacimiento y copia del libro de familia en su caso) 

Documentación acreditativa sobre la patria potestad o tutela del menor 

Documentación acreditativa de la residencia habitual del menor en España 

Cualquier resolución judicial adoptada en relación al menor 

Las FFCCS podrán adoptar medidas para localizar e impedir la salida del menor del territorio nacional. En caso de consumarse la salida del territorio nacional, se podrán activar los mecanismos de cooperación policial internacional. 

PROTOCOLO DE SUSTRACCIÓN DE MENORES Una vez realizados los trámites anteriores, se iniciará un procedimiento judicial en el país en que se encuentre el menor, CUYOS TRIBUNALES SON LOS COMPETENTES PARA RESOLVER sobre si procede o no la restitución del menor a España. 

Si su solicitud se tramita a través del Ministerio de Justicia, usted recibirá información puntual de la evolución del procedimiento judicial en el otro país. Además de poner el caso en conocimiento del Ministerio de Justicia, el progenitor demandante puede solicitar a la AUTORIDAD JUDICIAL COMPETENTE PARA CONOCER DEL FONDO DEL ASUNTO EN ESPAÑA, una resolución que especifique que el traslado o la retención lo han sido ilícitos. 

Esta resolución debe adjuntarse a la solicitud de restitución. 

Actuaciones judiciales ES IMPORTANTE tener en cuenta que en los casos de sustracción internacional de menores por parte de uno de sus progenitores DEBE ACTIVARSE EN TODO CASO EL PROCEDIMIENTO CIVIL DE RESTITUCIÓN, pues es el único que eventualmente conduce a la restitución del menor. 

RECUERDE: PROTOCOLO DE SUSTRACCIÓN DE MENORES Sin perjuicio de las actuaciones que se lleven a cabo a través del Ministerio de Justicia, usted puede ponerse en contacto con la EMBAJADA O CONSULADO DE ESPAÑA del lugar dónde ha sido trasladado el menor. 

La Embajada o Consulado de España puede: Países Convenio del Convenio de la Haya de 1980 En casos concretos, hacer gestiones ante la Autoridad Central del país donde se encuentre el menor y, en su caso, solicitar entrevista con las autoridades locales. 

Países que no forman parte del Convenio de la Haya de 1980 Es aconsejable ponerlo siempre en conocimiento de la Embajada o Consulado de España del lugar a donde ha sido trasladado el menor. Una vez iniciado el procedimiento de restitución ante las autoridades judiciales o de protección de menores de ese país conforme a la ley local, la Embajada o Consulado puede: Asesorarle sobre la manera más conveniente de actuar ante las autoridades locales. Facilitarle una lista de abogados expertos en la materia. Hacer seguimiento del procedimiento civil, para el reconocimiento de las resoluciones judiciales españoles que otorguen la custodia del menor al progenitor español. Si es necesario, hacer otras gestiones ante las autoridades locales.

Pueden descargarlo en el siguiente Link:

Capacitación Sustracción Internacional de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes. Encuentro de Abogados 17 de Mayo 16 hs C.A.B.A.



Los invitamos a la Capacitación sobre "Sustracción Internacional de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes. Convenio de La Haya 1980". Se impartirá en "Encuentro de Abogados Independientes" sito en calle Talcahuano 469, 8ª Frente CABA el próximo Jueves 17 de Mayo 2018 a las 16 hs.

Este taller no solo va dirigido a abogados, sino que también está pensado para todos aquellos profesionales que deseen seguir con su formación a través de una introducción y profundización en los procesos internacionales de conflictos de familia. También hay planeados más talleres sobre Derecho de familia internacional y Mediación internacional.

Los objetivos son: 
Analizar las particularidades que presenta la restitución internacional de menores en el marco del «CONVENIO DE LA HAYA», con especial atención sobre los aspectos civiles de la sustracción internacional de menores y la normativa europea.

Realizar un juicio crítico de la situación actual para tratar de encontrar soluciones alternativas por medio de la mediación, las comunicaciones judiciales directas, las asociaciones profesionales, asociaciones públicas y privadas y las redes.

Expositora: Dra. Silvia A. Sejas Pardo, Presidenta de la Asociación Clamís, Abogada colegiada en Barcelona España y en Buenos Aires Argentina, especializada en mediación transfronteriza en casos de sustracción de niños por la Mikk -Asociación Alemana de Mediación Familiar y prevención en sustracción de niños-. Es miembro de Cross Border Family Network con sede en Bélgica (ChildFocus), Miembro de Mikk-ev.de y de la International Social Service Ginebra Suiza. Asesora Legal Ad-Honorem en Foundchild, Fundación de Gabriela Arias Uriburu. Docente en GCBA. Posgrado en Mediación, Social Comunitaria y Familiar por FUNIBER. Junto con el español y el catalán, también cuenta con fluidez en Inglés e Italiano.

International Child Abductions Draw Outcry on Capitol Hill

Capitol HIll: Fighting back tears before a Senate panel, American physician Chris Brann on Tuesday recounted the abduction of his son, Nicholas, who was taken to Brazil in 2012.


FILE - Fathers who lost their children to spousal abduction to Japan hold photos of their children during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 5, 2010 In 2013, Japan’s parliament approved joining the 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction, a global child custody treaty, amid foreign concerns that Japanese mothers can take children away from foreign fathers without recourse.


"This is best described as a living death," Brann said in a halting, emotion-laden voice. "He [Nicholas] was 3 years old when he was unilaterally ripped out of my life, moved to a country he had never lived in, to a language he didn't speak, to a culture he didn't understand."

Brann added, "I've never been allowed to be there for his birthday, to be there for Christmas. You can't know what that feels like until you've been in that situation. As a father, there are times I feel like a failure because I wasn't able to protect my boy."

Hundreds of cases yearly

Nicholas was taken by his Brazilian-born mother, Brann's ex-wife. The case is not unique. Hundreds of international child abductions by parents are reported in the United States each year.

According to State Department officials, the return rate hovers at about 45 percent. U.S. lawmakers of both parties say America can and must do a better job recovering its youngest citizens and preventing such abductions in the first place.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, talks with the committee's ranking member, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 12, 2017.

"There's more Congress and the executive branch can do to end the kidnapping of these children," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said.

Hague Convention

The United States is one of 82 signatories to the 1980 Hague Convention to combat international child abduction, which commits nations to expeditiously return minors illegally taken abroad by a parent.

U.S. law also speaks to the issue. The 1993 International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act established federal penalties for a parent who removes a child from the United States in violation of another parent's custodial rights.

The 2014 International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act gives the State Department wide latitude to punish nations that fail to cooperate in resolving overseas abduction cases involving American children, from public condemnations to suspending U.S. developmental and security assistance to canceling state visits.

Testifying before the Judiciary Committee, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Carl Risch admitted the department has used the 2014 law's provisions sparingly, issuing diplomatic protests rather than imposing stronger measures on nations that do not assist in the return of abducted U.S. children.

"Continued diplomatic engagement is our best tool to promote long-term institutional changes in foreign governments," Risch said.

'We're so sorry'

Brann disagreed, noting that nothing the State Department has done so far has convinced Brazil's judiciary to reunite him with his son. Brann compared the State Department's reluctance to sternly punish uncooperative countries to a doctor who refuses to use the strongest medical tools to treat an illness.

"When the State Department says we are going to continue to engage diplomatically, what they are saying is that they are just going to pat me on the shoulder and say, 'We're so sorry that has happened,' " he said.

Another witness testified to the power of heightened pressure on foreign countries. In 2011, Kentucky resident Noelle Hunter's ex-husband took their 5-year-old daughter, Muna, to Mali. The Senate's Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, spearheaded a sustained effort by Kentucky's congressional delegation to compel Malian officials to return Muna. The campaign succeeded and Hunter brought her daughter back to America in 2014.


"If every member of Congress with kidnapped constituents would begin to regularly inquire of federal agencies and the [foreign] nations in which they are held, these children are going to come home," Hunter said.

A numbers problem

The committee's top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, applauded the concept of increased activism by lawmakers but noted that her state, California, has hundreds of parents with a child missing abroad and only two senators representing all of them.

"How do you do 300 cases [in California] like your state was able to do for you?" Feinstein asked, adding that an intervention by members of Congress is "possible to do, but it's not possible to do it every day of the year."

Rather, Feinstein said, the solution is to "increase the clout of the State Department and others to move more personally on this [issue]."

Federal officials stressed that preventing abduction is the best outcome, adding that a program is in place to mobilize U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents when a child at risk of international abduction is identified.

"We can enter lookouts in our system if there are any attempts to travel [depart the United States]," said Don Conroy, who directs the agency's National Targeting Center. "Returning the child is sometimes very complex. Prevention is a key piece of this."

Lawmakers of both parties stressed they want to see more done.

"I've seen the extremes we go to recover people who have been held hostage and the like, but we're not doing that for children," New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker said.

Lawmaker: U.S. needs to pressure Japan to comply with international child abduction laws


Japan remains a haven for parental child abductions and a U.S. lawmaker Wednesday urged the Trump administration to do more to pressure the country to fulfill its obligations under international law.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said during congressional testimony that between 300 and 400 children of international marriages have been abducted from the U.S. to Japan since 1994, and that more than 35 are still awaiting reunification with their American parents.

“Every day these children are separated from their U.S. parent, the damage compounds,” Smith said before a Congressional subcommittee on global human rights. “We must do better. We must not leave any child behind.”

Under international pressure, in 2014 Japan signed The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. The treaty requires the government to set up a process to allow foreign parents to appeal for visitation or return of their children. But Japan has been slack in administering the convention, according to Smith.

“How many of these children have come home four years later?” asked Smith. “How many even have access to their left behind parent now? Almost zero.”

James Cook, a Minnesota medical device specialist trying to gain custody of his four minor children from his estranged Japanese wife, also testified before Congress. 

In July 2014, his Japanese wife Hitomi Arimitsu took their children to Japan to visit her family and refused to return. Cook submitted an application for return under the Hague treaty and the case has made its way through both the Japanese and American court system, but Cook has still not been able to see his children.

A Minnesota court ordered the return of Cook’s children in 2017, but the ruling wasn’t carried out in Japan.

A key issue is that Japan does not have a way of enforcing its Hague commitments. It requires the abducting parent to voluntarily turn the children over and doesn’t allow the use of force in extracting the children. There have been numerous cases of parents simply refusing to comply with the Hague rulings.

Cook’s wife petitioned a Japanese court against the ruling to return the children and it was overturned, a decision which Japan’s Supreme Court upheld in December 2017.

“[My wife] has achieved the perfect consequence-free abduction with the aid of Japan’s systemic non-compliance and [the US Department of State’s] inaction,” Cook said in his testimony.

“After over 2.5 years in this process, I have nothing,” he said. “This process has cost me everything.”

Attention to the issue within Japan has been growing in recent weeks. Last month, all EU Ambassadors to Japan signed an official letter of diplomatic protest to pressure Japan to follow international law and enforce decisions which give an international parent custody or visitation rights.

Also in March, Japan’s Supreme Court ruled that a Japanese mother who is refusing to return her child to their father in the United States is "illegally restraining" the child under the Hague Convention.

It was the first such ruling by a Japanese court.

The court ruling and international pressure are a cause for optimism, according to John Gomez, an American who is chairman of the Kizuna Child-Parent Reunion group in Japan.

Gomez said that barriers remain, including an underlying “continuity principle” in Japanese courts means that the abducted child stays with the abducting parent. 

“Until the ‘continuity principle’ by which judges in Japan issue rulings is actually discarded and kidnapped children are returned, we must keep pushing to the utmost for the children to be returned to their loving parents,” said Gomez.

Rep. Smith said in his testimony that the State Department needs to apply more pressure on Japan and other countries that have refused to cooperate in returning abducted children. A 2014 law that Smith sponsored, the Goldman Act, requires the State Department to develop an agreement with Japan about children that had been abducted and to hold Japan accountable. 

However, Smith said that no action has been taken against Japan for past or current cases, and the State Department hasn’t even listed Japan as “non-compliant” in its annual report on the Hague convention.

“We hope that the State Department will do its job and implement the Goldman Act,” Smith said. “We hope that the Trump Administration will be different than the last.”

Fuente Usa Today

Wolfsburg: Conferencia Mediación Internacional 13 de Abril 2018






La Embajada de México en Alemania y la Alcaldía de la ciudad de Wolfsburg invitaron a participar como ponente a Isabel Fernández de Castillejos, Abogada y Mediadora, Presidenta de Mikk y Vice-Presidenta de Clamís, sobre Mediación Familiar Internacional y Derecho.

Entre los miembros presentes destacan el Sr. Alejandro Rivera Becerra. Jefe de la Sección Consular y Beate Ebeling, Encargada de Equidad de Género de la Ciudad de Wolfsburg, Daniela Cevik, Directora de Dialog e.V. y Heide Kruse, Directora de Frauenhaus e.V. Albergues para mujeres.

UK Desperate dad makes public appeal to find twin daughters abducted by ex




A desperate dad is making a public appeal to find his twin daughters abducted by his ex.
Care worker Peter Linney, 41, has not seen 13-year-old Georgia and Olivia since mum Michelle McGinlay took them against his will to South Africa in March 2016.

She and her bouncer boyfriend Pietro Confalone are now on the run with them.
The girls have been made wards of court in the UK and South African authorities have been hunting for the family after their visas ran out two years ago.

Peter, who has spent his £20,000 life savings trying to track them down, said: “I just want my girls back. I spend every waking moment thinking about them.”

His nightmare began shortly after he split from McGinlay, 42, in 2006, having the girls to stay with him every other weekend.
“But whenever she got a new bloke, she’d be difficult about me seeing the twins,” says Peter.

In January 2016 he got a call from McGinlay’s eldest daughter from a previous relationship warning him her mum and South African Confalone, 55, were planning to emigrate with the girls.

When he confronted the pair they claimed it was just a three-week holiday – but in an anonymous call from a man two days later he was told they had one-way tickets.

Frantic Peter got his lawyer to warn McGinlay she would be breaking the law if she took their daughters abroad without his written consent. A month later McGinlay made a second attempt, calling Peter from Heathrow demanding permission. Again he refused.

“She used my refusals to brainwash the girls against me,” he says. “She told them I was trying to stop them going on holiday. They hated me for that. She urged them to ring me and be nasty, calling me ‘the sperm donor’. It was so upsetting.”

In March, they were gone. Peter found the girls had not been at school for a week so he contacted police who discovered McGinlay and Confalone had got the girls on a Gatwick flight to Dubai.

Peter, of East Grinstead, Sussex, says: “I can only think they must have faked my signature on a forged affidavit.”

He got the children made wards of court. Since then he found out where his daughters were with the help of the International Child Abduction Contact Unit, but he believes the South African authorities bungled paperwork and failed to have McGinlay arrested.

The family then disappeared – and Peter says the only clues he now has to where they are come from McGinlay’s mum, Maureen.

“She has told me they’re in an area called Hartbeespoort, but Michelle won’t tell her the address.

“I have no money left to travel to South Africa to look for them myself. Until I find them, I’ll never be happy.”

Sussex Police say they are working on the case. A spokesman said: “Extradition proceedings have been considered but are not being carried out at this time in consideration for the welfare of the children.”

Top Court: Boy must return to father in U.S



The Yomiuri ShimbunIn the first ruling of its kind in Japan, the Supreme Court has decided that refusing to return a child despite an order based on the Hague Convention is “tantamount to illegal confinement” of that child.

Since Japan joined the convention in 2014, a number of parents have refused to comply with court-issued orders to return children, which observers have pointed out has turned these orders into dead letters. Thursday’s ruling by the Supreme Court is expected to give the orders more effectiveness and will likely influence similar custody cases.

The top court’s First Petty Bench made the ruling in an appellate trial that questioned whether a parent could reject a court order to return a child who had been brought to Japan issued in line with the Hague Convention that stipulates how to deal with children taken to another country after their parents’ marriage breaks down.

In this case, a habeas corpus appeal had been filed by a father living in the United States, demanding the return of his 13-year-old son, who is living in Japan with his mother.

According to the ruling, the marriage of the parents — who are both Japanese and had lived in the United States — broke down, and the mother returned to Japan with her son in 2016. The father filed a suit demanding the boy’s return under the Japanese act for implementation of the convention, and a return order was finalized by the Tokyo High Court.

However, the mother repeatedly refused to return the boy, so the father filed a habeas corpus appeal.

Regarding whether the mother’s action of not returning the boy amounted to illegal confinement, the petty bench said, “Serious consideration should be given to whether the parent who took the child was exerting undue psychological influence on the child.” As the son was living in a situation where he had to rely on his mother during his daily life, the court recognized that “it could not be said he was staying in Japan of his own free will.”

Furthermore, the court indicated that a parent’s failure to comply with the return order “would be clearly illegal unless there were exceptional circumstances under which returning a child would be considered improper.” The court decided the mother’s refusal to return her son was illegal.

In a ruling issued in November 2017, the Nagoya High Court’s Kanazawa branch threw out the father’s claim, saying, “The will of the son, who wishes to live in Japan, should be respected.” The Supreme Court overturned this decision and sent the case back to the Kanazawa branch to move ahead with proceedings to return the boy to his father.

Hague Convention

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction spells out international rules that, in principle, ensure that a child who is taken to another country by a parent without permission is returned to the country of their former habitual residence. If a child is brought to Japan, the parent living in the country of former habitual residence can file a lawsuit at the Tokyo or Osaka family court to demand the child’s return. A child’s return will not be authorized in certain situations, such as when there are concerns the child could be abused.

International Parental Child Abduction and Mediation in a Globalized World



The Gould Center for Conflict Resolution at Stanford Law School, the Center for Latin America Studies at Stanford University and the Legal Research Institute at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) cordially invite you to a one day international symposium: "Parental Child Abduction and Mediation in a Globalized World: What is Happening Between the United States and Mexico?" with the leading figures in the field; academics, practitioners, judges, and U.S. and Mexican government representatives. 

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
International Parental Child Abduction and Mediation in a Globalized World:
What is Happening Between the United States and Mexico?

Tuesday, April 10


8:30-9:00Breakfast
9:00-9:15Welcome
-Janet Martinez, Stanford Law School
-Nuria Gonzalez-Martin, UNAM, Mexico City
-Judge Daniel Weinstein (retired)
First Session (Moderator: Janet Martinez, SLS)
9:15-9:45“The Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction”
-Hans Van Loon, Former Secretary General of The Hague Conference on Private International Law
9:45-10:15“Good Practices: The Legal Framework for Mediation under the Hague Abduction Convention”
-Ann Laquer Estin, Aliber Family Chair in Law, University of Iowa College of Law
10:15-10:45“International Parental Child Abduction and International Family Mediation: United States-Mexico”
-Nuria Gonzalez-Martin, Senior Researcher at IIJ-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and Visiting Fellow Gould Center at Stanford Law School
10:45-11:00Coffee Break
Second Session (Moderator: Itay Ravid, J.S.D Candidate SLS)
11:00-11:30“Take Action: Tips to Prevent an International Parental Child Abduction from Occurring”
-Elena Corona, Division Chief, Office of Children´s Issues, U.S. Department of State
11:30-12:00“United States-Mexico Coordination and Collaboration for Cases under The Hague Abduction Convention”
-Fabiana Villamor, Branch Chief, Office of Children´s Issues, U.S. Department of State
12:00-12:30“Mexican Experience in Cases of International Child Abduction: Judicial Process vs Mediation”
-Claudia Sierra, Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry
12:30-1:15Lunch
Third Session (Moderator: Elaine Tumonis, Deputy Attorney General, CA Office of the Attorney General)
1:15-2:00“California Cases and the Practical Aspects of Mediation”
-Bridget Billeter, Deputy Attorney General, California Office of the Attorney General
-Anthony Da Silva, Deputy Attorney General, California Office of the Attorney General
2:00: 2:30“How International Family Mediation can Contribute: Practical Issues”
-The Honorable Ramona A. Gonzalez, President Judge, La Crosse County Circuit Court, La Crosse, Wisconsin
2:30-3:00“Mandatory Mediation: a Desired Paradox?”
-Fernando Navarro-Sanchez,Mediator and Practice Development Manager for Latin America, JAMS
3:00-3:15 Coffee Break
Fourth Session (Moderator: Nuria Gonzalez-Martin, UNAM and SLS)
3:15-3:45“Creating a Global Network for International Family Mediation”
-Melissa A. Kucinski, Attorney and Mediator. MK Family Law, PLLC
3:45-4:15“Online Dispute Resolution and Cross-Border Family Disputes”
-Colin Rule, Vice-President, Online Dispute Resolution, Tyler Technologies
4:15-5:00“International Mediation Through System Design Lens”
-Janet Martinez, Director Martin Gould Center for Conflict Resolution at Stanford Law School
-Sheila R. Purcell, Clinical Professor of Law, Director of the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, UC Hastings College of the Law
5:30 pmReception

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