Private International Law and Children's Rights Law

How do private international law and children’s rights law interact—and conflict—in international child abduction cases?

This book examines the relationship between two legal fields when courts decide on cross-border child abduction. While private international law prioritises the child’s prompt return and applies the best interests principle in abstracto, children’s rights law demands an in concreto, individualised assessment of the child’s best interests. These differing approaches can lead to legal friction in practice.

Through a detailed analysis of legal instruments and supranational case law, the book explores how these conflicts arise and how they might be resolved. Using the theoretical lens of international law’s diversification and expansion, it identifies nine conflict-management tools, grouped into four categories: coordination, hierarchy, priority, and harmony. It argues that two of these tools offer promising solutions.

The book evaluates 839 cases from the CJEU, ECtHR, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and national courts in Belgium, England & Wales, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. This empirical study assesses how effectively the proposed tools address conflicts between the two legal fields.

Offering clear recommendations for lawmakers, international organisations, and courts, the book provides a roadmap for fostering constructive relationships between legal fields. It is an essential resource for scholars of private international law, judges and practitioners in cross-border family law, and policymakers working at the intersection of international law and children’s rights.

Author Biography

Tine Van Hof is a legal researcher at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.