Children abducted to or from Germany

Hiya
did anyone see or better still tape this programme?
BBC One Life: Hague Convention and Child Custody Law
Germany is a signatory of the Hague Convention and so I am very, very interested in the topic. The case of Lady Catherine Meyer, wife of the British Ambassador to the US, who was previously married to a German national and has not seen her children since 1994 is one reason why I am very interested...
Thanks!
Katrina

PS this might be better on another forum though so please move it if necessary.
Split thread: Video taping of this programme

For the benefit of anyone who is not clear what the above post is all about:

The Hague Convention on Child Abduction is an international treaty that aims to ensure that children who are abducted or wrongfully retained by a parent will be returned as quickly as possible to the country in which they habitually reside so that issues of parental responsibility can be resolved by the courts in that country.

If a child is abducted from Germany, he or she is returned to Germany so that issues of parental responsibility can be resolved by the Family Court. If a child is wrongfully retained in Germany, he or she is returned to his or her country of habitual residence.

The Hague Convention assumes that the courts in the child's country of habitual residence are best able to make decisions about the best interests of the child.

So, for example, say you are British and your wife is American. You met and married in Germany and a few years later you have a child here. After the child has spent a few years growing up you and your wife decide to separate. She chooses to high-tail it back to the States taking your child with her. You can then invoke the Hague Convention to have your child returned to Germany until issues of custody and residence are decided by the courts.

Signatories to the Hague convention include, but are not limited to, the following countries:

Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States

Here is the complete list

Thanks Bob, that's how things work in theory, unfortunately German courts have a habit of seeing the level of language ability as a deciding factor, seeing the further usage of the German language as a necessity in decisions regarding residency and visitation. Germany may well be a signatory, unfortunately, as illustrated most famously in the case of Lady Meyer, the law isn't always applied as it was designed.
Thus information on the topic generally is vital to those in non-German/German relationships.
I know that it sounds bleak to think of such things far before the event but...
Katrina