Signing Hague convention is correct thing to do for the right reasons, but not to protect vengful NRI brides

NCW asks govt to sign international convention of Hague
http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20100109/1416/tnl-ncw-asks-govt-to-sign-international.html

 Sat, Jan 9 06:42 PM

New Delhi, Jan 9 (PTI) The National Commission for Women today asked the Indian government to sign the international convention of Hague on laws of marriage as well as safety of women to help protect NRI brides. Speaking at a seminar on women''s issues at the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas here, NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas said, most of the cases of divorce and separation of NRI brides create problems as the laws of the land are different in India and in the country where these women live.

India should sign the international laws like-- the convention of judicial and extra judicial documents in civil and commercial matters, convention on civil aspects of international child abduction and the divorce and legal separation convention, she said. Observing that complaints were coming from across the globe on harassment of Indian brides, Vyas urged the Indian diaspora to help in managing cases like these in their respective countries.

Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said the Government would look into the issues concerning signing such a convention. Asserting that the gender problem was universal, Kaur said, there is a need for the dispora to engage in this aspect.

"Educating the would-be NRI bride and their families about the different lifestyle would ensure a knowledge of the future in such alliances," she said. Minister for Women and Child development Krishna Tirath said efforts should be made to set up an advisory board with the diaspora and Indian women to help tackle such issues.

PTI SPC.

Comments:

Only problem with above statement is that justice is quick and transparent in foreign countries... Only in India a divorce can take 17 years and still Supreme court judge will condescendingly advise the husband to wait for a few more months since he has waited for 17 years.


The real story is that signing the Hague convention is the right thing to do, and better to do it late than never. It has been triggered by the fact of recent cases coming to Supreme court where SC had to send the parties back to foreign courts since India is not signatory to Hague convention. For example, recently there was a recent high profile case which went to Supreme Court, about a child Aditya Vora whose joint custody granted by US courts to NRI father was violated by mother who had come with child to India and had gone missing with the child. Eventually the Supreme Court had to ask CBI to trace the child. Read here.

If India was signatory to Hague convention, the mother would not have been able to violate US court orders with such impunity. And the child will not unnecessarily have to travel to US and then back to India, just because Indian supreme court is helpless!


Former SC Judge and chairman of the Law Commission of India A.R.Lakshmanan has strongly recommended that India should sign the Hague Convention at the earliest. Signing Hague Convention will strongly discourage either of the warring spouses from indulging in cross border parental child abduction. Read here.

Courtesy of Nyaya Bharat blog