INTRODUCTION

Nigel Lowe is truly the father of international family law. His contribution to the development of international family law has been immense, not only at the doctrinal level, but also as a result of his invaluable statistical analysis, especially in regard to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the ‘Hague Convention’). Lowe's contribution is not only important for family law practitioners and academics around the world, it is also essential for the development and improvement of international family law itself.

This chapter will focus on the major themes of Lowe's work on international family law as it applies to children, with a particular emphasis on the need for cooperation and consistency between different countries, for robust administration processes, and for clear empirical data about how international family laws are actually working. The chapter will conclude with an examination of the importance of statistical analysis in determining the gaps that need to be addressed in the future to ensure the efficient and appropriate operation of the Hague Convention.

COOPERATION AND CONSISTENCY IN INTERNATIONAL FAMILY LAW

International family law is extremely complex and encompasses both ‘the laws governing families with a foreign element’ and ‘internationally inspired norms governing domestic family law’. To function in any effective manner, international family law requires a great deal of cooperation between judges from different countries and consistent administrative support. To this end, in his writing about international family law, Lowe has long stressed the importance of judicial cooperation across different legal systems and advocated ways in which such cooperation could be enhanced. As Lowe states, international disputes involving children ‘need bold and incisive action’ to ensure children are not left in jurisdictional limbo.

It can be all too easy for judges to simply deal with the case before them on their reading of the international convention and the papers before them without considering the wider international implications. This creates a number of problems. For example, in cases involving the Hague Convention, courts must trust that children will be safe if they are returned to their countries of habitual residence. This can only be achieved when judges cooperate with each other and understand the thinking processes of judges in other countries.