22 U.S.C. § 9007 — Costs and fees

Page 2179 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 9008 Child Abduction. The Secretary of State is hereby au- thorized and empowered, in accordance with such regu- lations as he may prescribe, to perform all lawful acts that may be necessary and proper in order to execute the functions of the Central Authority in a timely and efficient manner. RONALD REAGAN. § 9007. Costs and fees (a) Administrative costs No department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Government or of any State or local government may impose on an applicant any fee in relation to the administrative processing of applications submitted under the Convention. (b) Costs incurred in civil actions (1) Petitioners may be required to bear the costs of legal counsel or advisors, court costs in- curred in connection with their petitions, and travel costs for the return of the child involved and any accompanying persons, except as pro- vided in paragraphs (2) and (3). (2) Subject to paragraph (3), legal fees or court costs incurred in connection with an action brought under section 9003 of this title shall be borne by the petitioner unless they are covered by payments from Federal, State, or local legal assistance or other programs. (3) Any court ordering the return of a child pursuant to an action brought under section 9003 of this title shall order the respondent to pay necessary expenses incurred by or on behalf of the petitioner, including court costs, legal fees, foster home or other care during the course of proceedings in the action, and transportation costs related to the return of the child, unless the respondent establishes that such order would be clearly inappropriate. (Pub. L. 100–300, § 8, Apr. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 440.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified to section 11607 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. § 9008. Collection, maintenance, and dissemina- tion of information (a) In general In performing its functions under the Conven- tion, the United States Central Authority may, under such conditions as the Central Authority prescribes by regulation, but subject to sub- section (c), receive from or transmit to any de- partment, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Government or of any State or foreign government, and receive from or transmit to any applicant, petitioner, or respondent, infor- mation necessary to locate a child or for the purpose of otherwise implementing the Conven- tion with respect to a child, except that the United States Central Authority— (1) may receive such information from a Federal or State department, agency, or in- strumentality only pursuant to applicable Federal and State statutes; and (2) may transmit any information received under this subsection notwithstanding any provision of law other than this chapter. (b) Requests for information Requests for information under this section shall be submitted in such manner and form as the United States Central Authority may pre- scribe by regulation and shall be accompanied or supported by such documents as the United States Central Authority may require. (c) Responsibility of government entities Whenever any department, agency, or instru- mentality of the United States or of any State receives a request from the United States Cen- tral Authority for information authorized to be provided to such Central Authority under sub- section (a), the head of such department, agen- cy, or instrumentality shall promptly cause a search to be made of the files and records main- tained by such department, agency, or instru- mentality in order to determine whether the in- formation requested is contained in any such files or records. If such search discloses the in- formation requested, the head of such depart- ment, agency, or instrumentality shall imme- diately transmit such information to the United States Central Authority, except that any such information the disclosure of which— (1) would adversely affect the national secu- rity interests of the United States or the law enforcement interests of the United States or of any State; or (2) would be prohibited by section 9 of title 13; shall not be transmitted to the Central Author- ity. The head of such department, agency, or in- strumentality shall, immediately upon comple- tion of the requested search, notify the Central Authority of the results of the search, and whether an exception set forth in paragraph (1) or (2) applies. In the event that the United States Central Authority receives information and the appropriate Federal or State depart- ment, agency, or instrumentality thereafter no- tifies the Central Authority that an exception set forth in paragraph (1) or (2) applies to that information, the Central Authority may not dis- close that information under subsection (a). (d) Information available from Parent Locator Service To the extent that information which the United States Central Authority is authorized to obtain under the provisions of subsection (c) can be obtained through the Parent Locator Service, the United States Central Authority shall first seek to obtain such information from the Parent Locator Service, before requesting such information directly under the provisions of subsection (c) of this section. (e) Recordkeeping The United States Central Authority shall maintain appropriate records concerning its ac- tivities and the disposition of cases brought to its attention. (Pub. L. 100–300, § 9, Apr. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 440.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’ meaning Pub. L. 100–300, Apr. 29,