Catherine Jane Von Kennel Gaudin v. John R. Remis, Jr.

We are invited to decide whether two minor children, abducted by their father in Canada and brought to the United States, should be returned to Canada under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act and the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International and Child Abduction.

I

The facts in this ease are set out in prior opinions of this court, see Gaudin v. Remis, 282 F.3d 1178 (9th Cir.2002) (“Gaudin I”); Gaudin v. Remis, 379 F.3d 631 (9th Cir.2004) (“Gaudin II ”), and so we recapitulate the case’s lengthy history only as is necessary for our decision today. Catherine Gaudin and John Remis have two children, who in 2000 were living with Gaudin in Canada. Remis, concerned about the way Gaudin was raising the children, took them to Hawaii, refused to return them, and filed for custody in Hawaii Family Court. In July 2000, the Family Court awarded temporary custody of the children to Remis.

Gaudin then filed a petition in federal court under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (“ICARA”), 42 U.S.C. § 11603 (b), and the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International and Child Abduction (the “Hague Convention” or the “Convention”), October 25, 1980,…