Opinion ID: 741731
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Proper Interpretation of the Hague Convention's Procedures

Text: 34 When the district court considered whether Ms. Ohlander's removal of Julia from Utah was wrongful, it misconstrued the Convention's contemplated procedures. According to the Convention, once a petition is filed, a court should consider only whether a respondent's removals of a child are wrongful. See Hague Convention, arts. 3, 12, 51 Fed.Reg. at 10498, 10499, 42 U.S.C. § 11603(b), (e). Here, antithetic to the Convention's intent as a whole, the court considered whether the petitioner's removals of the child were wrongful. 35 When Ms. Ohlander petitioned the United States district court for Julia's return to Sweden, the issue before the court was whether Mr. Larson's removal of Julia from Sweden was wrongful pursuant to the Convention. Hague Convention, art. 3, 51 Fed.Reg. at 10498. Once Ms. Ohlander removed Julia from Utah, the issue became whether Ms. Ohlander's removals were wrongful. Id. By filing his own petition in the Sweden courts, Mr. Larson chose to adjudicate Ms. Ohlander's removals of Julia in the foreign court rather than in the United States district court. The district court's consideration of Ms. Ohlander's removal of Julia without Mr. Larson having filed a cross-petition in that court was contrary to the Convention's intended procedures. 36 Additionally, denial of Ms. Ohlander's motion to dismiss renders Ms. Ohlander's most relevant defense to Julia's return to Utah unavailable, namely, the settled environment defense. Hague Convention, art. 12, 51 Fed.Reg. at 10499, 42 U.S.C. § 11603(e)(2)(B). Under the Convention's plain terms, one defense to a child's return is showing the petition was filed a year after the child's removal or retention and that the child has become settled in his or her new environment. Hague Convention, art. 12, 51 Fed.Reg. at 10499, 42 U.S.C. § 11603(e)(2)(B). When Ms. Ohlander filed her petition, she was asking for Julia's return to Sweden; any defenses to Julia's return, under Article 12 or otherwise, were available only to the respondent, Mr. Larson. See Hague Convention, art. 12, 51 Fed.Reg. at 10499, 42 U.S.C. § 11603(e)(2)(B). Consequently, Ms. Ohlander could not, under the Convention's contemplated procedures, properly assert the settled environment defense. However, once Mr. Larson filed his own petition in Sweden seeking to adjudicate Ms. Ohlander's removal of Julia from Utah, Ms. Ohlander rightfully could assert the settled environment defense. Hague Convention, art. 12, 51 Fed.Reg. at 10499, 42 U.S.C. § 11603(e)(2)(B). Conversely, had Mr. Larson filed a cross-petition in the United States district court for Julia's return to Utah, rather than instigating an entirely new action in Sweden, Ms. Ohlander properly could have asserted her defenses in the United States district court. Since Mr. Larson chose to initiate a second Convention proceeding in Sweden, Sweden was the jurisdiction where the claims and defenses of both Ms. Ohlander and Mr. Larson could be more fairly adjudicated. Therefore, the proper interpretation of the Convention weighs in favor of dismissing the United States action and allowing the issues to be decided in Sweden. 8 37 This result is further supported by the plain language of the Convention's art. 12, which states where the judicial or administrative authority in the requested State has reason to believe the child has been taken to another State, it may stay the proceedings or dismiss the application for the return of the child. Hague Convention, art. 12, 51 Fed.Reg. at 10499. While this language is permissive rather than mandatory, its words merit a court's consideration when denying a motion to dismiss. Congress has declared the importance of the need for uniform international interpretation of the Convention. 42 U.S.C. § 11601(b)(3)(B). Article 12 helps to ensure two disparate courts will not reach conflicting decisions by encouraging courts to dismiss or stay their actions where appropriate. This case poses a perfect example of the need for Article 12's dismissal provision: the United States district court had knowledge that Julia had been taken to Sweden, and that a second action initiated by Mr. Larson was pending in Sweden, where all the parties, including the child, were present. Therefore, we conclude the adherence to intended Hague Convention procedures support Ms. Ohlander's motion to dismiss. 38