112 STAT. 3034
PUBLIC LAW 105-323—OCT. 30, 1998
(2) until the mid-1970's, parental abduction generally was
not considered a criminal offense in the United States;
(3) since the mid-1970's, United States criminal law has
evolved such that parental abduction is now a criminal offense
in each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia;
(4) in enacting the International Parental Kidnapping
Crime Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-173; 107 Stat. 1998; 18
U.S.C. 1204), Congress recognized the need to combat parental
abduction by making the act of international parental kidnapping a Federal criminal offense;
(5) many of the extradition treaties to which the United
States is a party specifically list the offenses that are extraditable and use the word "kidnapping", but it has been the
practice of the United States not to consider the term to include
parental abduction because these treaties were negotiated by
the United States prior to the development in United States
criminal law described in paragraphs (3) and (4);
(6) the more modern extradition treaties to which the
United States is a party contain dual criminality provisions,
which provide for extradition where both parties make the
offense a felony, and therefore it is the practice of the United
States to consider such treaties to include parental abduction
if the other foreign state party also considers the act of parental
abduction to be a criminal offense; and
(7) this circumstance has resulted in a disparity in United
States extradition law which should be rectified to better protect
the interests of children and their parents.
18 USC 3181
SEC. 203. INTERPRETATION OF EXTRADITION TREATIES.
For purposes of any extradition treaty to which the United
States is a party, Congress authorizes the interpretation of the
terms "kidnaping" and "kidnapping" to include parental kidnapping.
Approved October 30, 1998.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 4660 (S. 1266):
SENATE REPORTS: No. 105-101 accompanying S. 1266 (Comm. on Foreign Relations).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 144 (1998):
Oct. 8, considered and passed House.
Oct. 14, considered and passed Senate, amended.
Oct. 15, House concurred in Senate amendment.
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