The carrying into effect of contact orders

 

States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that contact orders are carried into effect.

 

Article 10

 

Safeguards and guarantees to be taken concerning contact

 

1 Each State Party shall provide for and promote the use of safeguards and guarantees. It shall communicate,

through its central authorities, to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, within three months after the entry

into force of this Convention for that State Party, at least three categories of safeguards and guarantees available in

its internal law in addition to the safeguards and guarantees referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 4 and in letter b of

paragraph 1 of Article 14 of this Convention. Changes of available safeguards and guarantees shall be

communicated as soon as possible.

 

2 Where the circumstances of the case so require, judicial authorities may, at any time, make a contact order

subject to any safeguards and guarantees both for the purpose of ensuring that the order is carried into effect and

that either the child is returned at the end of the period of contact to the place where he or she usually lives or that he

or she is not improperly removed.

 

a Safeguards and guarantees for ensuring that the order is carried into effect, may in particular include:

 

- supervision of contact;

 

- the obligation for a person to provide for the travel and accommodation expenses of the child and, as may

be appropriate, of any other person accompanying the child;

 

- a security to be deposited by the person with whom the child is usually living to ensure that the person

seeking contact with the child is not prevented from having such contact;

 

- a fine to be imposed on the person with whom the child is usually living, should this person refuse to comply

with the contact order.

 

b Safeguards and guarantees for ensuring the return of the child or preventing an improper removal, may in

particular include:

 

- the surrender of passports or identity documents and, where appropriate, a document indicating that the

person seeking contact has notified the competent consular authority about such a surrender during the period of

contact;

 

- financial guarantees;

 

- charges on property;

 

- undertakings or stipulations to the court;

 

- the obligation of the person having contact with the child to present himself or herself, with the child, regularly

before a competent body such as a youth welfare authority or a police station, in the place where contact is to be

exercised;

 

- the obligation of the person seeking contact to present a document issued by the State where contact is to

take place, certifying the recognition and declaration of enforceability of a custody or a contact order or both either

before a contact order is made or before contact takes place;

 

- the imposition of conditions in relation to the place where contact is to be exercised and, where appropriate,

the registration, in any national or transfrontier information system, of a prohibition preventing the child from leaving

the State where contact is to take place.

 

3 Any such safeguards and guarantees shall be in writing or evidenced in writing and shall form part of the

contact order or the confirmed agreement.

 

 

4 If safeguards or guarantees are to be implemented in another State Party, the judicial authority shall

preferably order such safeguards or guarantees as are capable of implementation in that State Party.

 

Chapter III. MEASURES TO PROMOTE

 

AND IMPROVE TRANSFRONTIER CONTACT

 

Article 11

 

Central authorities

 

1 Each State Party shall appoint a central authority to carry out the functions provided for by this Convention

in cases of transfrontier contact.

 

2 Federal States, States with more than one system of law or States having autonomous territorial units shall

be free to appoint more than one central authority and to specify the territorial or personal extent of their functions.

Where a State has appointed more than one central authority, it shall designate the central authority to which any

communication may be addressed for transmission to the appropriate central authority within that State.

 

3 The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall be notified of any appointment under this article.

 

Article 12