A statute governing international child custody disputes creates a federal right of action to enforce access rights under an international convention, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled.
The circuit said that parents can sue in U.S. courts to vindicate access rights under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (ICARA), 42 U.S.C. §11603(b), rejecting the argument that the U.S. State Department is the only avenue for pursuing a remedy under the Hague Convention’s Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
