Relocation in Stages - Child Abduction: If parents decide to relocate to Israel with their children, and one parent goes first with the children, to get them settled in, can the parent who remains abroad, to finish clearing up their affairs, change his/her mind and bring Hague Convention proceedings for the return of the children?

Clearly, the answer would depend on the full circumstances of the case , although, on the face of it, assuming the "native country" , was , like Israel, a "Hague Convention country, then if the children had moved there with one of the parents physically , but with the actual proven consent of both, and had become habitually resident there, then the protesting parent would not be justified in bringing Hague Convention proceedings afterwards. The fact that he did not go through with the move himself does not matter. In the Canadian case of DeHaan v. Gracia [2004] it was held that the evidence showed that the parties expressly intended to establish permanent residence in Canada prior to the move, which is the relevant time to determine the parties' intention. As it was proved that the defendant consented to the children's move from France to Canada he " cannot later change his mind and revoke his consent if he does not subsequently like the result of his decision."