42 U.S.C. § 11603 : US Code - Section 11603: Judicial remedies

Search 42 U.S.C. § 11603 : US Code - Section 11603: Judicial remedies

(a) Jurisdiction of courts
The courts of the States and the United States district courts
shall have concurrent original jurisdiction of actions arising
under the Convention.
(b) Petitions
Any person seeking to initiate judicial proceedings under the
Convention for the return of a child or for arrangements for
organizing or securing the effective exercise of rights of access
to a child may do so by commencing a civil action by filing a
petition for the relief sought in any court which has jurisdiction
of such action and which is authorized to exercise its jurisdiction
in the place where the child is located at the time the petition is
filed.
(c) Notice
Notice of an action brought under subsection (b) of this section
shall be given in accordance with the applicable law governing
notice in interstate child custody proceedings.
(d) Determination of case
The court in which an action is brought under subsection (b) of
this section shall decide the case in accordance with the
Convention.
(e) Burdens of proof
(1) A petitioner in an action brought under subsection (b) of
this section shall establish by a preponderance of the evidence - 
(A) in the case of an action for the return of a child, that
the child has been wrongfully removed or retained within the
meaning of the Convention; and
(B) in the case of an action for arrangements for organizing or
securing the effective exercise of rights of access, that the
petitioner has such rights.
(2) In the case of an action for the return of a child, a
respondent who opposes the return of the child has the burden of
establishing - 
(A) by clear and convincing evidence that one of the exceptions
set forth in article 13b or 20 of the Convention applies; and
(B) by a preponderance of the evidence that any other exception
set forth in article 12 or 13 of the Convention applies.
(f) Application of Convention
For purposes of any action brought under this chapter - 
(1) the term "authorities", as used in article 15 of the
Convention to refer to the authorities of the state of the
habitual residence of a child, includes courts and appropriate
government agencies;
(2) the terms "wrongful removal or retention" and "wrongfully
removed or retained", as used in the Convention, include a
removal or retention of a child before the entry of a custody
order regarding that child; and
(3) the term "commencement of proceedings", as used in article
12 of the Convention, means, with respect to the return of a
child located in the United States, the filing of a petition in
accordance with subsection (b) of this section.
(g) Full faith and credit
Full faith and credit shall be accorded by the courts of the
States and the courts of the United States to the judgment of any
other such court ordering or denying the return of a child,
pursuant to the Convention, in an action brought under this
chapter.
(h) Remedies under Convention not exclusive
The remedies established by the Convention and this chapter shall
be in addition to remedies available under other laws or
international agreements.