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Public accountability index · all 103 Contracting Parties

The Hague Return Accountability Index

Measuring whether the Hague system works in practice — country by country. The Index measures what the Convention ultimately depends on: whether children wrongfully taken across borders are returned through lawful, timely and enforceable processes.

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Each Convention country's score is weighted heavily toward real return performance — 80% of the index. The remaining 20% examines the legal and institutional system behind those outcomes: treaty integration, judicial engagement, Central-Authority cooperation, enforcement capacity and data transparency. The index prioritises outcomes, but does not ignore the legal and institutional machinery required to produce them.

How to read the score

  1. 68–87Strong performance
  2. 55–67Generally reliable, with gaps
  3. 42–54Mixed or inconsistent
  4. 30–41Serious concerns
  5. <30Critical concern / insufficient effective protection

Full ranking — all 103 countries

TierLegalJudicialTreatyConfidence
1New Zealand 72.7T1 75.5508065 Medium 0.35
2Belgium 68.5T1 67.7877090 High 0.75
3Japan 66.5T2 63.6878080 High 0.70
4Dominican Republic 66.4T2 64.2877065 Medium 0.48
5Australia 64.4T2 62.1878080 High 0.62
6Germany 64.4T2 61.9878090 High 0.60
7United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 63.7T2 61.6878080 High 0.62
8Uruguay 61.9T2 62.3627065 Medium 0.48
9Costa Rica 61.5T2 60.2877065 High 0.60
10Hungary 61.4T2 58.9877075 Medium 0.48
11Portugal 60.3T2 57.1877090 Medium 0.48
12Argentina noncompliance 59.7T2 57.8878080 Medium 0.40
13Romania noncompliance 59.4T2 57.5878075 High 0.62
14Denmark 59T2 55.8877090 Medium 0.48
15United States of America 58.9T2 58.1628080 High 0.75
16Morocco 58.3T2 59.6508065 Medium 0.48
17Latvia 58T2 54.3878075 Medium 0.48
18Türkiye 57.8T2 59623580 High 0.62
19Trinidad and Tobago 57.6T2 58508065 Medium 0.40
20Jamaica 57.3T2 55.3877050 Low 0.30
21El Salvador 57T2 53.3878065 Low 0.30
22Guinea 56.8T2 57.5623550 Low 0.30
23Mexico 56.7T2 56.3628065 High 0.62
24Israel 56.4T2 52.8877080 Medium 0.48
25Brazil noncompliance 56.3T2 53.9878065 Medium 0.55
26Czechia 56.3T2 55.8508090 Medium 0.55
27Norway 56T2 51.6878080 Medium 0.48
28Paraguay 55.6T2 51.8878065 Medium 0.48
29France 55.2T2 50.4878090 High 0.62
30South Africa 54.7T3 50.8877065 Medium 0.48
31Austria 54.5T3 48.9877090 Medium 0.35
32Spain 54.2T3 53.4626090 High 0.62
33Republic of Korea noncompliance 54T3 51.4873550 Medium 0.40
34Croatia 53.7T3 51628090 Medium 0.40
35Canada 53.2T3 51.6628080 High 0.62
36Iceland 53.2T3 48.9877065 Medium 0.40
37Ireland 52.6T3 47.5877090 Medium 0.55
38Singapore 52.6T3 48.1878050 Medium 0.40
39Malta 52.5T3 48.1877075 Medium 0.40
40Slovenia 52.5T3 48.1877075 Medium 0.40
41Italy 51.5T3 45877090 High 0.62
42Switzerland 51.5T3 45878080 High 0.62
43Slovakia 51.2T3 46.1877090 Medium 0.40
44Sweden 51.2T3 45.4878090 Medium 0.48
45Guatemala 51.1T3 49.3628065 Low 0.30
46Finland 50.6T3 45877090 Medium 0.40
47Cyprus 50.4T3 45878075 Medium 0.40
48Lithuania 50.3T3 45877075 Medium 0.48
49Estonia 50.1T3 45877075 Medium 0.40
50Nicaragua 50.1T3 45877065 Medium 0.48
51Belize noncompliance 49.9T3 50507065 Medium 0.40
52Republic of Moldova 49.7T3 46.1873565 Medium 0.40
53Serbia 49.6T3 46.1628080 Medium 0.40
54Netherlands 49.3T3 45873590 Medium 0.48
55Ukraine 49.3T3 45628065 Medium 0.55
56Peru noncompliance 49.2T3 45878065 Medium 0.48
57Bulgaria noncompliance 49.1T3 45877075 Medium 0.48
58Poland noncompliance 49.1T3 45877075 High 0.62
59Luxembourg 49T3 47507090 Medium 0.40
60Mauritius 49T3 45.2873565 Medium 0.40
61Armenia 48.8T3 45873565 Medium 0.40
62Fiji 48.8T3 47508065 Medium 0.40
63Georgia 48.7T3 47623565 Medium 0.40
64Venezuela 48.7T3 45628080 Medium 0.40
65Panama 48.4T3 45628065 Medium 0.40
66Chile 48.2T3 45628065 Medium 0.48
67Honduras noncompliance 48T3 46.1628065 Medium 0.40
68Russian Federation 48T3 45873550 High 0.62
69Greece 47.8T3 45627090 Medium 0.40
70Colombia 47.6T3 45628065 Medium 0.55
71Thailand 47.6T3 45628065 Low 0.30
72Andorra 47.5T3 42878050 Low 0.15
73Kazakhstan 47.5T3 42878050 Low 0.15
74Bosnia and Herzegovina 47T3 46.1503580 Medium 0.40
75Belarus 45.8T3 45503565 Medium 0.40
76Monaco 45.8T3 45503565 Medium 0.40
77Cuba 45.5T3 42628050 Low 0.15
78Philippines 45.3T3 39878050 Low 0.30
79Pakistan 44.8T3 42.5507050 Low 0.30
80Guyana 44.5T3 42508050 Low 0.15
81Sri Lanka 44.5T3 42507065 Low 0.15
82Albania 44.4T3 42623565 Low 0.15
83Burkina Faso 44.4T3 42623565 Low 0.15
84Barbados 44.2T3 42507050 Low 0.15
85Gabon 44.2T3 42507050 Low 0.15
86Saint Kitts and Nevis 44.2T3 42506065 Low 0.15
87Cabo Verde 44.1T3 42623550 Low 0.15
88Iraq 43.8T3 42.5503550 Low 0.30
89North Macedonia 43.8T3 42503580 Low 0.15
90San Marino 43.4T3 42503565 Low 0.15
91Seychelles 43.4T3 42503565 Low 0.15
92Turkmenistan 43.4T3 42503565 Low 0.15
93Uzbekistan 43.4T3 42503565 Low 0.15
94Botswana 43.2T3 42503550 Low 0.15
95China (People 43.2T3 42503550 Low 0.15
96Lesotho 43.2T3 42503550 Low 0.15
97Tunisia 43.2T3 42503550 Low 0.15
98Ecuador noncompliance 37.2T4 30878065 Low 0.30
99Bolivia 35.8T4 30627050 Low 0.30
100Zimbabwe 35.3T4 32.5503565 Low 0.30
101Bahamas noncompliance 34.2T4 30508065 Low 0.30
102Zambia 33.8T4 30503550 Low 0.30
103Montenegro 12.6T4 0873580 Medium 0.40

Click any row (or press Enter) for the full 6-component breakdown, the basis of each, and the sources.

How this works. Return effectiveness is 80% of the score — the share of abducted children actually returned. The remaining 20% is system-quality context from data that exists for most countries: legal framework, speed, judicial engagement (Hague Network judges), cooperation, and treaty integration. The bottom tier is for evidenced poor performance (noncompliance findings, high unresolved rates) — not for countries that publish little. Every score is auditable: click a row.

Why this index exists

The 1980 Hague Convention can only protect children when countries implement it quickly, seriously and enforceably. The Index exists to make that implementation visible — to move the conversation from treaty text to real outcomes, so that families, lawyers, courts and Central Authorities can see where the system works and where it fails.

The scoring rubric (applied to all 103)

overall = 0.80·Return effectiveness (CENTRAL) + 0.08·Legal framework + 0.05·Speed + 0.03·Judicial engagement + 0.02·Cooperation + 0.02·Treaty integration (cap 87) Return effectiveness (80%) — measured national return rate > U.S. noncompliance % > U.S.-proxy % > neutral default. Legal framework — completed HCCH Country Profile + concentration of jurisdiction (specialised courts). Speed & enforcement — published decision timeframes / U.S.-proxy timeliness. Judicial engagement — designated Hague Network judge(s) (IHNJ list, 75 member states). Cooperation — official cooperation findings (U.S. noncompliance citations). Treaty integration — ratification vs accession, maturity, EU (Brussels II ter) framework. Tiers: 1 Strong ≥68 · 2 Good 55–67 · 3 Mixed / partial 42–54 · 4 Weak / concern <42.

Full rules: SCORING-RUBRIC-v2.md · data: assessed-scores.json. Legal framework is read from each State's completed HCCH Country Profile (74 responding States — concentration of jurisdiction). States without a completed profile use a neutral value, stated in the basis — never penalised for it.

Disclaimers & sources

Scores are capped at 87 — no Convention country is scored as perfect, and even the strongest states return only a minority of cases within target times. The Index is a research and accountability tool. It is not legal advice, does not predict the outcome of any individual case, and does not replace country-specific advice from a qualified lawyer. It is not a legal finding of Convention compliance. Scored by a published rubric; confidence varies by evidence and is shown per country. Updated 2026-07-07.

Submit data or corrections

Are you a lawyer, researcher, Central-Authority representative, journalist, or an affected parent with verified public data? Help make the Index more accurate — submit a correction or a source and we will review it against the methodology.

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