Judicial diplomacy: the case of international family law

As part of DiploSem, CISD’s New Frontiers in Diplomacy Seminar Series, this session explores diplomacy beyond the traditional domains of foreign ministries and embassies. 

Diplomacy takes many forms, and this session focuses on a particularly important and often overlooked facet: judicial diplomacy, where courts and judges operate across borders to resolve complex transnational disputes and protect vulnerable individuals.

In a world where transnational families are increasingly common, legal systems are frequently required to respond to cases that fall between jurisdictions and beyond the reach of existing legislation. This session examines how judges have developed remedies in international family law to address forced marriage, transnational marriage abandonment, wardship, and child protection in cross-border contexts.

The session will begin with landmark developments in forced marriage jurisprudence, including Re KR (a minor), which paved the way for the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007. It will then explore how the High Court has used its inherent jurisdiction to support victims and families where legislative gaps persist.

The second part of the talk will focus on international child abduction, including cases under the 1980 Hague Convention as well as non-Hague contexts. Particular attention will be given to the diplomatic dimensions of judicial cooperation: how courts engage with judges abroad, how precedents travel across jurisdictions, and how effective judicial diplomacy has been in practice.

Key themes of the seminar include:

• Judicial diplomacy as a growing domain of international engagement.
• Remedies for forced marriage and transnational abandonment.
• Wardship and the UK High Court’s inherent jurisdiction.
• Cross-border child abduction and international judicial cooperation.
• The global influence of English family law precedents.

This session will conclude with an audience Q&A.