Warning: The information set out below is a general guideline provided by DOMENECH ABOGADOS.
Specific advice should be sought before any action in reliance on it is taken, as explained more
fully in this website's
legal notice.
Spain is a signatory to the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction, an international treaty granting legal remedies in situations where
a child is wrongfully taken from his country of habitual residence or is not sent back to the
custodial parent after, for example, a holiday with his other parent, or where contact rights of
the non-custodial parent are not being respected.
Under this Convention, each signatory country binds itself swiftly to enforce measures to
restore the child to his country of habitual residence or to ensure that a parent's rights of
contact with his child are respected. Unfortunately, however, Spain is a notoriously bad applier of
the Convention. That said, new EU rules that come into force in August 2022 can be expected to improve this.
An incoming Convention application can be publicly funded in Spain by directing it to the
Spanish central authority designated under the Convention, which in turn uses Spanish state lawyers
to present the case in the relevant Spanish court. The central authority does its best, of course,
but its staff and funds are over-stretched. Parents using this route cannot expect an easy daily
check on the progress of their case, and language difficulties are likely to arise.
Alternatively, a direct approach to the Spanish courts may be made by means of a privately
funded lawyer specialising in these sorts of cases and who is language-proficient: this will be speedier, and much more efficient (since that lawyer can communicate directly with the left-behind parent and communications don't need channelling between central authorities). Still, it may not be in the power of that lawyer to avoid court delays.
Obviously, prevention and reacting promptly may be invaluable in these cases. International
associations like the UK charity "Reunite" - with which DOMENECH ABOGADOS cooperates in Spain -
provide guidance to parents who find themselves affected by abduction issues and can also supply
easy-to-follow abduction prevention packs for any parents who fear their child may be at risk of
abduction.