National Judicial Education Program Office of Private Hon. Joan Dempsey Klein Hon. Cindy S. Lederman NJEP Director Observer: A. Leo Levin, Esq. Hon. Barbara A. Lynn Hecht Schafran, Esq. International Law Madsen Edward B. McConnell, Esq. U.S. NJEP Advisory Committee Hon. Celeste F. Bremer Department of Hon. John C. Coughenour Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey State Hon. Bernice Bouie Donald Washington, Hon. William F. Dressel Lisa Hill Fenning, Esq. DC Hon. Mel Flanagan Hon. William J. Hughes Hon. Carol W. Hunstein Frances M. Friedman, Esq. Mr. Michael Coffee August 21, 2017 Hon. Frederick P. Horn Hon. Michael E. Keasler Attorney-Adviser By E-mail Hon. Gladys Kessler Hon. Judith McConnell Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson Hon. Marilyn Hall Patel Richard D. Reaves Prof. Judith Resnik Hon. David Rothman Dear Michael, Phyllis N. Segal, Esq. Spencer Karen Waldrop Thorson I read the draft with great interest and Good Practice Guide on Article 13(1)(b) Hon. Rosalie E. Wahl Hon. Roger K. Warren was pleased to see that it has the potential to be a valuable resource for judges who find themselves presiding in Hague Convention cases in which is NJEP is a project of “grave risk” Legal Momentum alleged under 13(1)(b) on the grounds of exposure to domestic violence. children’s in cooperation with the National Association of Women Judges Annex 3 is a most welcome and vital part of the Guide. In many Good Practice instances the judge presiding in a 13(1)(b) case has had no prior education about RE: Hague domestic violence or misunderstands its impact on children, assuming, for Convention on example, that if the child is not directly abused there is no harm. Annex 3 the Civil addresses this knowledge gap with guidance about the realities of domestic Aspects of violence and its impact on children that is vital for a judge to understand in order to International make an informed decision when domestic violence is the ground for a 13(1)(b) Child defense. Abduction - Draft Good That said, I have several suggestions about how the Guide can be made more Practice Guide accurate and informative. on Article 13(1)(b) 16 East 34th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016 212.925.6635
National Judicial Education Program NJEP Director Lynn Hecht Schafran, Esq. NJEP Advisory Committee Hon. Celeste F. Bremer Hon. John C. Coughenour Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey Hon. Bernice Bouie Donald Hon. William F. Dressel Lisa Hill Fenning, Esq. Hon. Mel Flanagan Hon. William J. Hughes Hon. Carol W. Hunstein Frances M. Friedman, Esq. Hon. Frederick P. Horn Hon. Michael E. Keasler Hon. Gladys Kessler Hon. Joan Dempsey Klein Hon. Cindy S. Lederman Observer: A. Leo Levin, Esq. Hon. Barbara A. Madsen Edward B. McConnell, Esq. Mr. Michael Coffee Attorney-Adviser Office of Private International Law U.S. Department of State Washington, DC August 21, 2017 By E-mail Hon. Judith McConnell Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson Hon. Marilyn Hall Patel Richard D. Reaves Prof. Judith Resnik Hon. David Rothman Phyllis N. Segal, Esq. Spencer Karen Waldrop Thorson Hon. Rosalie E. Wahl Hon. Roger K. Warren NJEP is a project of Legal Momentum in cooperation with the National Association of Women Judges RE: Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - Draft Good Practice Guide on Article 13(1)(b) Dear Michael, I read the draft Good Practice Guide on Article 13(1)(b) with great interest and was pleased to see that it has the potential to be a valuable resource for judges who find themselves presiding in Hague Convention cases in which “grave risk” is alleged under 13(1)(b) on the grounds of children’s exposure to domestic violence. Annex 3 is a most welcome and vital part of the Good Practice Guide. In many instances the judge presiding in a 13(1)(b) case has had no prior education about domestic violence or misunderstands its impact on children, assuming, for example, that if the child is not directly abused there is no harm. Annex 3 addresses this knowledge gap with guidance about the realities of domestic violence and its impact on children that is vital for a judge to understand in order to make an informed decision when domestic violence is the ground for a 13(1)(b) defense. That said, I have several suggestions about how the Guide can be made more accurate and informative. 16 East 34th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016 212.925.6635