John Mayer, Advocate
of the Scottish Bar
The Hague Convention Against International Child Abduction
and the European Custody Convention are two of the world's most fundamental
laws. Before doing even one Euro's worth of business with any country in the
EU a country must not only sign and ratify these Treaies, but satisfy the EU
Commission and further inspectors that proper working mechanisms are in place
in their country which give full and efficient effect to the Treaties. John
has handled many dozens of such cases in the Court of Session (Scotland's Supreme
Court) under the Hague Convention Against International Child Abduction and
the European Custody Convention. These sometimes go as far as Proof, but more
often resolve themselves in settlement once a party realises that being in Scotland
is no hiding place from the Treaties' deeply effective provisions. John is proud
to have assisted Sheriff George Jamieson in writing Parental Responsibilities
and Rights, part of which covers the subject. John has handled cases from Ireland,
South Africa, America, Russia, Iran and France. He was instrumental in bringing
South Africa into the family of nations to which the Hague Convention ought
to apply. South Africa is now a Full Member. Such cases are usually fraught
with the extra tension of involving foreign laws and court rulings. John often
has to familiarise himself with the Family Laws of countries such as Turkey
and Saudi Arabia, where no birth or marriage certificates exist as we know these
in the West. To instruct John in a Family Law case, just click on 'Instruct
John' on the menu.
