22 U.S.C. § 9124

Current through P.L. 118-106 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/04/2024)

Section 9124 - Waiver by the Secretary of State

(a) In general

Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of State may waive the application of any of the actions described in subsections (d) and (e) of section 9122 of this title with respect to a country if the Secretary determines and notifies the appropriate congressional committees that-

(1) the government of such country-

(A) has satisfactorily resolved the abduction cases giving rise to the application of any of such actions; or

(B) has ended such country's pattern of noncompliance; or

(2) the national security interest of the United States requires the exercise of such waiver authority.

(b) Congressional notification

Not later than the date on which the Secretary of State exercises the waiver authority under subsection (a), the Secretary shall-

(1) notify the appropriate congressional committees of such waiver; and

(2) provide such committees with a detailed justification for such waiver, including an explanation of the steps the noncompliant government has taken-

(A) to resolve abductions cases; or

(B) to end its pattern of noncompliance.

(c) Publication in Federal Register

Subject to subsection (d), the Secretary of State shall ensure that each waiver determination under this section-

(1) is published in the Federal Register; or

(2) is posted on the Department of State website.

(d) Limited disclosure of information

The Secretary of State may limit the publication of information under subsection (c) in the same manner and to the same extent as the President may limit the publication of findings and determinations described in section 2414(c) of this title, if the Secretary determines that the publication of such information would be harmful to the national security of the United States and would not further the purposes of this chapter.

22 U.S.C. § 9124

Pub. L. 113-150, title II, §204, Aug. 8, 2014, 128 Stat. 1821.

EDITORIAL NOTES

REFERENCES IN TEXTThis chapter, referred to in subsec. (d), was in the original "this Act", meaning Pub. L. 113-150, 126 Stat. 1807, known as the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 9101 of this title and Tables.

abduction: The term "abduction" means the alleged wrongful removal of a child from the child's country of habitual residence, or the wrongful retention of a child outside such country, in violation of a left-behind parent's custodial rights, including the rights of a military parent.
application: The term "application" means-(A) in the case of a Convention country, the application required pursuant to article 8 of the Hague Abduction Convention;(B) in the case of a bilateral procedures country, the formal document required, pursuant to the provisions of the applicable arrangement, to request the return of an abducted child or to request rights of access, as applicable; and(C) in the case of a non-Convention country, the formal request by the Central Authority of the United States to the Central Authority of such country requesting the return of an abducted child or for rights of contact with an abducted child.
appropriate congressional committees: The term "appropriate congressional committees" means the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
child: The term "child" means an individual who has not attained 16 years of age.