(a) In a case arising under the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act or involving the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the prosecutor or other appropriate public official may take any lawful action, including resort to a proceeding under Article 3 of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act or any other available civil proceeding, to locate a child, obtain the return of a child or enforce a child-custody determination if there is:

1. (1) an existing child-custody determination;
2. (2) a request to do so from a court in a pending child-custody proceeding;
3. (3) a reasonable belief that a criminal statute has been violated; or

4. (4) a reasonable belief that the child has been wrongfully removed or retained in violation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

   (b) A prosecutor or appropriate public official acting under this section acts on behalf of the court and may not represent any party.

History: Laws 2001, ch. 114, § 315.

ANNOTATIONS

Cross references. — For the Hague Convention, see 40-10A-302 NMSA 1978 and notes thereto.