跨國子女拐帶事件中兒童慣常居所地之認定

Determining the Child’s Habitual Residence in Cross-Border Child Abduction

海牙「跨國兒童拐帶民事公約」之規範目的，乃藉由快速之行政或司法程序，將被拐帶離開原慣常居所地之兒童立即返還於原慣常居所地，故兒童慣常居所地之認定，即成為跨國子女拐帶事件之重心。我國涉外民事法律適用法與民法皆未採行慣常居所，但有鑑於跨國子女拐帶事件已不斷發生於我國法院實務，而跨國子女拐帶事件國際上各國之處理已因「跨國兒童拐帶民事公約」而趨同化，使兒童慣常居所地成為國際上處理跨國子女拐帶事件之核心，故本文即就兒童慣常居所地加以分析、探討，以作為我國之借鏡。

The Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction works on the principle of restoring the status quo immediately prior to the wrongful removal or retention, by ensuring the prompt return of the abducted or retained child to the State of their habitual residence. The Convention conferred on the international community a legal device whose objective is precisely to avert international child abductions. The court needs to identify where the child was habitually resident immediately prior to the abduction. It is critical to determine the child’s habitual residence. This article primarily focuses on the determining the child’s habitual residence in cross-border child abduction matters.