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Legal Information: Washington

Statutes: Washington

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Updated: 
August 1, 2024

26.27.051. International application of chapter

(1) A court of this state shall treat a foreign country as if it were a state of the United States for the purpose of applying Articles 1 and 2.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) or (4) of this section, a child custody determination made in a foreign country under factual circumstances in substantial conformity with the jurisdictional standards of this chapter must be recognized and enforced under Article 3.

(3) A court of this state need not apply this chapter if the child custody law of a foreign country violates fundamental principles of human rights.

(4) A court of this state need not apply this chapter if the law of a foreign country holds that apostasy, or a sincerely held religious belief or practice, or homosexuality are punishable by death, and a parent or child may be at demonstrable risk of being subject to such laws. For the purposes of this subsection, “apostasy” means the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief.