Abstract
This dissertation focuses on how well Aotearoa hears children's views in return proceedings under the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (hereafter "the Convention"). The Convention sets out the process that its 101 Contracting States must follow where a parent refuses to voluntarily return a child who has been wrongful removed or retained in another Contracting State. Under the Convention, an abducted child will be returned to their state of habitual residence unless the abducting parent can satisfy the court that one of the exceptions to return is fulfilled, and the court applies its discretion to allow the child to remain. These proceedings are referred to as return proceedings. The Convention does not explicitly prescribe how and when child participation fits into return proceedings since it only addresses the issue narrowly in an exception regarding the child's objection to return. This therefore creates space for debate over the extent to which return proceedings should allow all children to participate, not just those expressing an objection to return. This dissertation engages with this debate specifically through the lens of return proceedings in Aotearoa.