Access for Access: Ensuring Access to Federal Courts for Parents Seeking to Exercise Rights of Access under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

Each year, thousands of children are abducted across international borders, often by one of their parents. The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Hague Convention) and its implementing legislation, the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (ICARA), provide recourse to the non-abducting parent. However, recent cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Fourth and Second Circuits have created a circuit split on the issue of whether rights of access, in contrast to rights of custody, convey a private right of action in U.S. federal courts under the Hague Convention. This Comment examines this circuit split juxtaposed against the Hague Convention\u27s object and purpose. Ultimately, this Comment argues that access rights should be sufficient to establish jurisdiction, in part because the Hague Convention\u27s purpose, as well as ICARA, demand timely action on cases involving the international abduction of children