On 13th September, 1997, a symposium was held in honour of Adair Dyer at the Peace Palace in The Hague. This symposium, entitled `Globalization of Child Law: The Role of the Hague Conventions', was organized by the Faculty of Law of Tilburg University and the International Society of Family Law in collaboration with the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Adair Dyer, best known for his exceptional work in the area of international child abduction, was active at the Hague Conference for more than 25 years.
The protection of children has been a major concern of the Hague Conference from the very beginning of its existence. The Conference followed and reacted to developments such as the increasing numbers of children - alone or accompanied - moving or migrating internationally, which has given rise to many new legal, economic, social and cultural problems. During the symposium, the past, present and future roles of the Hague Conventions in the international protection of children, taking into account the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, were examined and discussed. This volume contains the contributions to this international symposium, as well as the full texts, in both English and French, of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction, the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, and the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.