Glossary

is an international treaty which provides for children to be returned if they have been wrongly removed from, or retained outside, their country of habitual residence.

to give a document to the judicial officer in court.

the time when the parties present their evidence to the court and make submissions on the law that applies to the case. After the hearing, the court makes a decision in the case.

something that was not personally seen or heard by the person giving evidence but told to them by another person. For example, Jane told Sarah that she heard Fred arguing with Sam. In this example, Sarah's evidence about the argument would be hearsay because Sarah did not see or hear the argument herself.