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Calendar No. 196

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1266

[Report No. 105–101]

To interpret the term ‘‘kidnaping’’ in extradition treaties to which the United

States is a party.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 7, 1997

Mr. HELMS, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, reported the following

original bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar

A BILL

To interpret the term ‘‘kidnaping’’ in extradition treaties

to which the United States is a party.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Extradition Treaties

5 Interpretation Act of 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) each year, several hundred children are kid2 napped by a parent in violation of law, court order,

3 or legally binding agreement and brought to, or

4 taken from, the United States;

5 (2) until the mid-1970’s, parental abduction

6 was not considered a criminal offense in the United

7 States, either at the State or Federal level;

8 (3) since the mid-1970’s, United States crimi9 nal law has evolved such that parental abduction is

10 now a criminal offense in each of the 50 States and

11 the District of Columbia;

12 (4) in enacting the International Parental Kid13 napping Crime Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–173;

14 107 Stat. 1998; 18 U.S.C. 1204), Congress recog15 nized the need to combat parental abduction by

16 making the act of international parental kidnap17 ping—removing a child from the United States with

18 intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental

19 rights—a Federal criminal offense;

20 (5) many of the extradition treaties to which

21 the United States is a party specifically list the of22 fenses that are extraditable and use the word ‘‘kid23 napping’’, but it has been the practice of the United

24 States not to consider the term to include parental

25 abduction because these treaties were negotiated by
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1 the United States prior to the development in Unit2 ed States criminal law described in paragraphs (3)

3 and (4);

4 (6) the more modern extradition treaties to

5 which the United States is a party contain dual

6 criminality provisions, which provide for extradition

7 where both parties make the offense a felony, and

8 therefore it is the practice of the United States to

9 consider such treaties to include parental abduction

10 if the other foreign state party also considers the act

11 of parental abduction to be a criminal offense; and

12 (7) this circumstance has resulted in a disparity

13 in United States extradition law which should be

14 rectified to better protect the interests of children

15 and their parents.

16 SEC. 3. INTERPRETATION OF EXTRADITION TREATIES.

17 For purposes of any extradition treaty to which the

18 United States is a party, Congress authorizes the interpre19 tation of the terms ‘‘kidnaping’’ and ‘‘kidnapping’’ to in20 clude international parental kidnapping.

21 SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL KIDNAPPING DEFINED.

22 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘international parental

23 kidnapping’’ means a criminal offense that is the same

24 or similar to the criminal offense set forth in section 1204

25 of title 18, United States Code.
Calendar No. 196

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1266

[Report No. 105–101]

A BILL

To interpret the term ‘‘kidnaping’’ in extradition

treaties to which the United States is a party.

OCTOBER 7, 1997

Read twice and placed on the calendar