70.5.—(1) An application for the return of a child under the Hague Convention shall be made by petition and–
(a)shall include averments in relation to–
(i)the identity of the petitioner and the person alleged to have removed or retained the child;
(ii)the identity of the child and his date of birth;
(iii)the whereabouts or suspected whereabouts of the child;
(iv)the date on which the child is alleged to have been wrongfully removed or retained;
(v)the grounds on which the petition is based; and
(vi)any civil cause in dependence before any other court or authority in respect of the child, or any proceedings mentioned in section 9 of the Act of 1985(1) relating to the merits of the rights of custody of the child in or before a relevant authority; and
(b)there shall be produced with the petition and lodged as a production–
(i)a certified or authorised copy of any relevant decision or agreement; and
(ii)a certificate or affidavit from a Central Authority or other competent authority of the Contracting State where the child habitually resides concerning the relevant law of that State.
(2) An application for access to a child under the Hague Convention shall be made by petition and–
(a)shall include averments in relation to–
(i)the identity of the petitioner;
(ii)the identity of the child and his date of birth;
(iii)the parents or guardians of the child;
(iv)the whereabouts of the child;
(v)the factual and legal grounds on which access is sought; and
(vi)any civil cause in dependence before any other court or authority in respect of the child, or any proceedings mentioned in section 9 of the Act of 1985 relating to the merits of the rights of custody of the child in or before a relevant authority; and
(b)there shall be produced with the petition and lodged as a production a certified copy of any relevant decision or agreement.
(3) An application under section 8 of the Act of 1985 (application for declarator that removal or retention of child was wrongful) shall be made by petition and–
(a)shall include averments in relation to–
(i)the identity of the petitioner and of the person who is alleged to have removed or retained the child;
(ii)the identity of the child and his date of birth;
(iii)the whereabouts or suspected whereabouts of the child;
(iv)the date on which the child is alleged to have been wrongfully removed or retained;
(v)the proceedings which gave custody to the petitioner; and
(vi)the proceedings under the Hague Convention in relation to which the petition is necessary; and
(b)there shall be produced with the petition any relevant document.
70.6.—(1) Subject to rule 14.6(2), the period of notice for lodging answers to a petition to which rule 70.5 applies shall be 4 days.
(2) Such a petition shall be served on–
(a)the person alleged to have brought the child into the United Kingdom;
(b)the person with whom the child is presumed to be;
(c)any parent or guardian of the child if he or she is within the United Kingdom, or a specified dependent territory and not otherwise a party;
(d)the chief executive of the local authority, and the reporter to the children’s panel, in the local authority area in which the child resides; and
(e)any other person who may have an interest in the child.
(3) The first order under rule 14.5 (first order in petitions) in a petition to which rule 70.5 applies shall specify a date within 7 days after the expiry of the period of notice for a hearing to determine the further progress of the petition.
70.7.—(1) Where a petition is presented under paragraph (1) of rule 70.5 and there are proceedings mentioned in section 9 of the Act of 1985 relating to the merits of the rights of custody of the child depending in or before a relevant authority, the court shall give written intimation of the petition and, in due course of the outcome of the petition, to that relevant authority.
(2) Where the court receives a notice equivalent to that under paragraph (1) from a relevant authority, all proceedings in any cause mentioned in section 9 of the Act of 1985 relating to the merits of the rights of custody of the child shall be sisted by the court until the dismissal of the proceedings in that other court under the Hague Convention; and the Deputy Principal Clerk shall give written intimation to each party of the sist and of any such dismissal.
70.8.—(1) At any stage of a cause mentioned in paragraph (1) of rule 70.5, the court may, at its own instance or on the motion of any party, pronounce an interlocutor transmitting the cause to the High Court in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, or the appropriate court of a specified dependent territory, as the case may be.
(2) Where a cause is transferred under paragraph (1), the Deputy Principal Clerk shall–
(a)transmit the process to the appropriate officer of the High Court in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, or the appropriate court of a specified territory, as the case may be;
(b)give written intimation of such transfer to each party; and
(c)certify on the interlocutor sheet that such written intimation has been given.
(3) Where a cause is transferred under paragraph (1), the question of expenses shall not be determined by the court, but shall be at the discretion of the court to which the cause is transferred.
(4) Where such a cause is transferred to the court from the High Court in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, or the appropriate court of a specified dependent territory–
(a)the Deputy Principal Clerk shall, on receipt of the order transferring the cause and any documents in the cause, give written intimation to each party of the transfer;
(b)the cause shall be deemed to have been commenced by petition; and
(c)the Deputy Principal Clerk shall, within two sederunt days of the receipt of it, cause it to be put out on the By Order Roll before the Lord Ordinary.
Section 9 of the Act of 1985 was amended by the Family Law Act 1986 (c. 55), Schedule 1, paragraph 28 and by the Children Act 1989 (c. 41), Schedule 13, paragraph 47 and Schedule 15.