With an increasing awareness of the international context of proceedings before UK courts, the potential for greater complexity and a corresponding need for practitioners to be aware of the international issues may arise within proceedings. A missed step at any stage can lead to difficulties further down the line, the possibility of delay, and a potentially disadvantageous outcome for the client. Being able to identify, address, and resolve such issues has never been more important, whether the case concerns contact, leave to remove, child abduction, or public law issues. This book provides practitioners with the information necessary to deal with international issues, in whatever context and whatever form they may arise, in all proceedings concerning children. Though the book focuses on Brussels IIa and the 1996 Hague Convention, it also provides an overview of the legislation and Regulations that support the operation of these two vital international instruments. The expert team of authors also identify the leading cases that assist in interpreting and applying their respective provisions and, where there are no authorities that deal directly with a particular area, identify and explain how practitioners can draw assistance from decided cases in other areas of law that address similar provisions within other international instruments.