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ฉบับพิเศษ ประจำ�ปี 2564

1. Encouragement of Having the Child Involved in International

Child Abduction Mediation and Literature Review of Arguments

For and Against the Involvement of the Child in Family Matters

Mediation

Article 13(2) of the Hague Convention indicates an exception to granting

a return order when there is an objection from the child. This provision, interpreted
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alongside with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(UNCRC), which provides children with the right to be heard , is the fundamental
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source for encouraging the involvement of the child in international child abduction
mediation, according to the Guide to Good Practice.
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Generally, involvement of children in family dispute mediation serves some
beneficial purposes. First, as stated in the Guide to Good Practice, hearing the voice of

the child can distract parents from their own conflicts and instead focus on the interests
of the child. Moreover, having the child involved is a way to inform them about
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the current situation in their families. Empirical research has also found that having
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children as a part of the mediation does reduce conflicts between parents and promotes

9 Art. 13(2) “The judicial or administrative authority may also refuse to order the return of the child if it
finds that the child objects to being returned and has attained an age and degree of maturity at which it is appropriate
to take account of its views.” Hague Convention, supra note 2 at art. 13(2).
10 Art. 12 “1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views
the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight
in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. 2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided
the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or
through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law.”
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child art. 12, Nov. 20, 1989, 1577 U.N.T.S. 3. This provision has
been extended to cover alternative dispute resolution according to the 2009 General Comment by the Committee
on the Rights of the Child. GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICE, supra note 5 at para. 248.
11 GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICE, supra note 5 at chapter 7.
12 Id. at para 237.
13 Id.

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