Sanchez v. Suasti

Jose I. Sanchez, the father, appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for the return of his minor children to Brazil under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.1 While acknowledging that the mother, Ruth E. Suasti, unilaterally removed the children from Brazil, the trial court decided that the father lacked the necessary “rights of custody” under the Convention to be entitled to have the children returned. We disagree with the trial court. A Brazilian court has ruled that the father has the right to prohibit the mother from changing the children’s…