F.H.U. VS. A.C.U. A-4668-10T4
We affirm the April 29, 2011 Family Part order directing A.C.U., to turn over his nine-year-old daughter, M.U., to her mother, F.H.U. This will allow the return of M.U. to her former home in Turkey. We hold that when petitioning for the return of a child under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, although the Convention requires an analysis of a wrongfully removed child's "well-settled" status in his or her new country when the petition is filed more than one year after the removal, this required analysis is not a jurisdictional limitation. Therefore, based on the merits and other criteria set by the Hague Convention, a court may order the return of such child to the home country despite a finding that he or she is well-settled here.
