This form is a Safe Harbor Order.  It is designed to detail the conditions that will exist in the habitual residence upon the child’s return. 

This order presumes

     (1) the parties are agreeable to the conditions of return, and

     (2) will obtain an order from the appropriate court in the habitual residence that accepts the parties agreement and will order them to comply with it. 

Actual return of the child is delayed until the parties’ agreement is accepted and approved by the court of the child’s habitual residence.  Upon proof that the foreign court has approved the agreement, a separate order for actual return of the child can then issue.

Judge James Garbolino has prepared the attached sample order for this website. The sample order does not represent official policy or recommendations of the Federal Judicial Center.

This document is part of The 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction: A Resource for Judges, a Special Topic Webpage.