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Ark. Code Ann. § 9-19-208

Jurisdiction declined by reason of conduct

Known as the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act

The act spans §§ 9-19-101 to 9-19-402 (41 sections).

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Arkansas Department of Human Services v. Cox (2002)

Most recently applied in Devine v. Martens (September 2007)

Acts 1999, No. 668, § 208.

How often courts cite this section

2001200710
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in § 9-19-204 or by other law of this state, if a court of this state has jurisdiction under this chapter because a person seeking to invoke its jurisdiction has engaged in unjustifiable conduct, the court shall decline to exercise its jurisdiction unless: the parents and all persons acting as parents have acquiesced in the exercise of jurisdiction;

(2) a court of the state otherwise having jurisdiction under §§ 9-19-201 — 9-19-203 determines that this state is a more appropriate forum under § 9-19-207; or

(3) no court of any other state would have jurisdiction under the criteria specified in §§ 9-19-201 — 9-19-203.

(4) If a court of this state declines to exercise its jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, it may fashion an appropriate remedy to ensure the safety of the child and prevent a repetition of the unjustifiable conduct, including staying the proceeding until a child-custody proceeding is commenced in a court having jurisdiction under §§ 9-19-201 — 9-19-203.

(5) If a court dismisses a petition or stays a proceeding because it declines to exercise its jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, it shall assess against the party seeking to invoke its jurisdiction necessary and reasonable expenses including costs, communication expenses, attorney's fees, investigative fees, expenses for witnesses, travel expenses, and child care during the course of the proceedings, unless the party from whom fees are sought establishes that the assessment would be clearly inappropriate. The court may not assess fees, costs, or expenses against this state unless authorized by law other than this chapter.

Current official text: Arkansas General Assembly. Digitized from the UniCourt Code Improvement Commission public-domain capture. Reproduced from public-domain Arkansas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.