When a family splits across borders, which country decides?

On October 25, 1980, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction was concluded at The Hague. It created a system for the prompt return of children wrongfully taken or kept in another country by a parent, so that custody decisions are made in the child's home country.

Countries joining the convention agreed to set up central authorities that work together on these cases. Over the following decades, it became one of the most widely adopted international family-law treaties.

Why it still matters: as more families live across borders, the treaty still guides courts every day.

What other everyday problems do you think need global agreements?

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