Article 12
A request for locating and returning a minor under the present Convention shall be lodged by those entitled
to do so by the laws of the State where the minor habitually resides.
Article 13
The judicial or administrative authorities of the State Party of the minor's habitual residence, or those of the
State Party where the minor is or is assumed to be retained, shall be competent to hear the request for the
minor's location and return, at the option of the complainants.
When in the complainants' view there are urgent reasons, the request may be submitted to the judicial or
administrative authorities of the State Party where the wrongful act occurred.
Article 14
The request for locating and returning shall not require authentication and shall be processed through the
Central Authorities or directly through the competent authorities referred to in Article 13 of the present
Convention. The requested authorities shall decide upon the most expeditious procedures for effecting it.
After receiving the request, the requested authorities shall order the necessary steps taken in accordance
with their domestic laws to initiate, facilitate, and assist the judicial and administrative procedures involved in
locating and returning the minor. In addition, steps shall be taken to ensure the immediate return of the
minor, and where necessary, to ensure his or her care, custody or provisional guardianship, depending on
the circumstances, and, as a preventive measure, to bar the minor from being wrongfully removed to
another State.
The request, stating grounds for location and return of the minor, shall be lodged within one hundred and
twenty days after the wrongful removal or retention of the minor has been detected. If the request for
location and return is lodged by a State Party, the latter shall do so within one hundred and eighty days.
When it is necessary to take action before locating the minor, the above-mentioned period shall run from the
day on which a person or authority entitled to file the request is informed that the minor has been located.
Irrespective of the above, the authorities of the State Party where the minor is retained may at any time
order his or her return if it is in the minor's best interests.
Article 15
The authentication or similar formalities otherwise required shall be unnecessary when requests for
cooperation encompassed by this Convention are transmitted via consular or diplomatic channels or via the
Central Authorities, and when conveyed directly from one tribunal to another in the border area of the States
Parties. No authentication in the requesting State Party shall be required in the case of related documents
returned via the same channels.
Where necessary, the requests shall be translated into the official language or languages of the State Party
to which they are addressed. With respect to attachments, a translation of the summary of the essential
information shall suffice.