With the recent international abduction incident involving a Japanese mother and an American father, a lot of public concern has been raise over child custody issues. If a child custody order exists, should other countries have to enforce the agreement? That was the problem that the American father had run into when his wife took their children to Japan and never returned.

But now a different type of international abduction case has reached American courts. This time, instead of one parent leaving the country and taking the children with him or her, a parent is bringing the child back to the United States.

A 16-month little girl was brought back to the United States by her father. The father, daughter, and the girl's mother had all be in Mexico visiting the mother's family. Without warning, the father flew back to the U.S. with the child. His intentions of taking the little girl are not clear at this point.

There is little information about the relationship between the mother and father or whether any type of custody agreement was set up. But the mother has sued the father for custody of the child, claiming that his actions violated the 1980 Hague Conventions on International Child Abduction. She believes that he should not retain custody of the girl since he essentially kidnapped her from Mexico.

Child custody disputes in general can be extremely emotional and frustrating for both parents. But courts typically look to the best interests of the child when determine which parent gets what type of custody. And when a custody order is reached, violation of said custody order can result in penalties.

Source: KWTX.com, "International Child Custody Dispute To Play Out In Local Courtroom," Paul J. Gately, 16 June 2011