Special Issue in Honour of William Duncan

This special issue of International Family Law is dedicated to William Duncan and is a tribute to his enormous contribution to the work of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. As Hans van Loon, Secretary General of the Hague Conference, states in the introduction:

‘As a member of the Permanent Bureau he accomplished an incredible job, assisted by his wonderful small team, which he inspired to do the nearly-impossible. He took on responsibility for: the preparations and organisation of the negotiations on the Hague Convention of 13 January 2000 on the International Protection of Adults, half a dozen review meetings on the Children's Conventions, the development of a whole range of tools and activities to support these instruments, the preparation and successful negotiations on the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance and its Protocol of 23 November 2007 on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations, the development of regional support and assistance programs - in Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, as well as the Malta dialogue with legal systems across and beyond the Mediterranean. And this list is not complete and, in particular, does not reflect the tremendous support he gave, notably in his role as Deputy Secretary General from 1 June 2000 onwards, to me and all our colleagues at the Permanent Bureau, and indeed to the Members of the Hague Conference.'

The newly released International Family Law Special Tribute Issue contains over 30 articles commissioned from internationally renowned authors. Topics include aspects of the Hague Conventions and European Regulations on international family law; the issue of the role and meaning of the principle of the ‘best interests of the child' within the context of the Hague Child Abduction Convention; international family mediation; cross-border family relocation and much more.

Over 30 articles commissioned from internationally renowned authors including:

A supra-national approach to interpreting the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention - a tale of two European courts: Part 1: setting the scene by Professor Nigel Lowe

William Duncan and the judges by The Right Honourable Lord Justice Mathew Thorpe

Inter-jurisdictional support proceedings: a Canadian perspective by Justice Joan MacPhail

Intercountry adoption in New Zealand: successes and challenges by The Honourable Judge Peter F. Boshier

The contribution of the Hague Children's Conventions on the development of Finnish private international family law by Adair Dyer

Habitual residence and children by Professor Peter E. McEleavy

Whither the 'best interests of the child' in the 1980 Child Abduction Convention? by The Honouralbe Judge Jacques Chamberland

Cross-border family relocation: law and mediation in international family law by Mr Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani