Hague Convention: A Great Way to Maintain Peace Among Two Countries

The Hague Convention or Hague Conference is named so because the convention was first signed at Hague, Netherlands. The Hague Convention is also called the Netherlands Hague convention. The International Court of justice is situated in Hague. The Hague Convention of 1899 and 1907 is a compilation of various declarations and international treaties. These were negotiated among different countries at two international peace conferences. Russian Tsar Nicolas II proposed the first convention that occurred in 1899. The second convention occurred in 1907, and the third was planned for 1914 but did not happen.

It was rescheduled for 1915, but it did not happen because the World War had started. At that time, the objectives of the Hague declaration and any other convention were largely related to war crimes. These include what should be the codes for soldiers when they fight. There are a set of guidelines that German-American political Philosopher Franz Lieber proposed. These sets of codes are collectively called Lieber codes. This was first presented during the American civil war when soldiers were asked to follow the code that writes how a soldier should conduct himself. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed this code. In these Conventions, codes and conduct were largely discussed, and a set of guidelines was created, largely borrowed from the Lieber Code.

Hague Convention 1996: Causes

Due to the increase in migration and immigration, the number of international marriages is increasing daily. Still, a problem arises when there is a family dispute or, let's say, the partner is on a dependent VISA and is a victim of domestic abuse. Now when there is a problem in the family, and both of the partners want a divorce, then comes the time for the custody of a child. The courts face several problems as the person on VISA is not a native citizen, so the court cannot directly act. The International Court of Justice intervened to resolve these issues, and all the countries drafted a convention at The Hague. This is called The Hague Convention 1996.

Hague declaration comes into play when a parent abducts a child from one country to another without the other parent's consent, and the child is 16 years of age or less. If a country signs The Hague Convention 1996, a firm of lawyers will be appointed in that country to implement the Hague conventions.

Salient Features Of Hague Conventions

• When a child is abducted by one of his parents without the other parent's consent, then the child's human rights are hampered. The decisions will be taken considering the best interest of the child.

• The case will be dealt with on a high-priority basis.

• Hague conventions do not allow adoption in a child's own country.

• These are very good decisions every country should sign. Still, some countries did not sign the conventions.

Many people often wonder, what is the Hague Convention? Well, in history, you will learn about two Hague conventions. One is the revolutionary Hague conference in Nederlands to maintain peace between the two countries. The other Hague conference is trending in the news, mainly focusing on child protection. The Hague Convention protects children and their families against the dangers of illegal, irregular, premature, or ill-prepared adoptions in other countries - a system in place to ensure that these safeguards are observed and prevent child abduction, sale, or trafficking.

It is known by different names, such as the 'Hague Convention on Parental Responsibility and Protection of Children,' also called the 'Hague convention 1996'. It is popularly referred to as the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This Hague Convention protects children from illegal adoptions abroad. The countries signed the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Below is a list of Hague Convention countries.

• Albania

• Argentina

• Armenia

• Austria

• Bahamas

• Belarus

• Belgium

• Belize

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Brazil

• Bulgaria

• Burkina Faso

• Canada

• Chile

• Colombia

• Costa Rica

• Croatia

• Cyprus

• Czech Republic

• Denmark

• Dominican Republic

• Ecuador

• El Salvador

• Estonia

• Fiji

• Finland

• France

• Georgia

• Germany

• Greece

• Guatemala

• Honduras

• Hong Kong (China)

• Hungary

• Iceland

• Ireland

• Israel

• Italy

• Japan

• Latvia

• Lithuania

• Luxembourg

• Macau (China)

• Malta

• Mauritius

• Mexico

• Moldova 

• Monaco

• Montenegro

• Netherlands

• New Zealand

• Nicaragua

• Norway

• Panama

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Poland

• Portugal

• The Republic of Korea (from 1 June 2015)

• Romania

• Saint Kitts and Nevis

• San Marino

• Serbia

• Singapore

• Slovakia

• Slovenia

• South Africa

• Spain

• Sri Lanka

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• Thailand

• The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)

• Trinidad and Tobago

• Turkey

• Turkmenistan

• Ukraine

• United Kingdom

• United States of America

• Uruguay

• Uzbekistan

• Venezuela

• Zimbabwe

Hague Conventions in India

Let us take the case of India. India did not sign the Hague Convention. The United States and European countries are pressuring it because many Indians are settled in the US and Europe. India refuses to sign the Hague convention. India points out the practical problem that an Indian woman who married and settled abroad may face in its defence. Many Indian women marry NRIs and settle abroad, mostly in the United States or Europe. Women generally go on a dependent VISA (Dependent VISA means, in that VISA, you are telling the government authorities of a country that you are dependent on someone in this country. Not all countries allow the spouse on a dependent VISA to take up a job).

When the woman faces domestic abuse, she has to choose between her abusive marriage and her child. The choice is very easy. Unlike the US and some other countries, In India, as the social structure prevails, people always live in a closely bound family structure, so being alone in a foreign country with no social support is not something a woman would want. So in these cases, the woman cannot compete with her husband as she is on a dependent VISA, and she cannot pay for the lawyers and hearing, so in these cases, the woman returns to India to take her child. According to the Hague Declaration, this is an offence, but at the same time, it is an injustice to the woman who was a victim of domestic abuse. So India refused to sign the Convention.

Conclusion

Thus, we understood the Hague convention was promoted promptly to India as many of the women get married to NRIs, majorly in the US and Europe, so this would decline te possibility of VISA’s, so India did not accept this convention.