Child abduction in the UK can become a criminal case that results in the jailing of the abducting parent. Here’s what you can do if your child or children are taken away.
Due to the ease of travel and more people choosing to emigrate and live in different countries, cases of international child abduction, or kidnapping, have been increasing. Although that changed with the pandemic, with vaccines now widely available, travelling abroad will likely once again pick up, and more child abduction cases in the UK may occur. But what exactly is parental child abduction?
Child abduction in the UK and elsewhere happens when one parent removes a child or children from their country of habitual residence — where the children normally reside and have been living most of their lives — without the consent, agreement or sometimes even knowledge of the other parent.
Child abduction is often a breach of the left-behind parent’s rights. And it’s incredibly distressing both for the children — who are suddenly removed from the surroundings they’re familiar with and are denied contact with the other parent — and for the left-behind parent.
Dealing with Parental Child Abduction Cases
Parental child abduction can be dealt with under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which aims “to protect children internationally from the harmful effects of their wrongful removal or retention and to establish procedures to ensure their prompt return to the state of their habitual residence, as well as to secure protection for rights of access.”
But problems arise if countries involved are not signatories to this multilateral treaty designed to make it quick and relatively easy to return children to where they were abducted from. Currently, 101 nations are parties to the convention and have an office called Central Authority, where international child abduction cases can be reported.
In England and Wales, cases of international child abduction are dealt with at the Family Division of the High Court in London, and judges there may deem a non-convention country to be party to the accord even if they are not. Many countries have no legal provisions regarding international child abduction, while others are signatories to regional agreements on the return of children abducted by a parent.
Taking Action When Parental Child Abduction Happens
If your partner — or former spouse, in the case of divorce — has taken your children without your agreement or knowledge, you must first find out where they are. If your family has lived abroad, it’s likely the abducting parent may have gone to their home country with the children. Your first act should be to contact the Central Authority — see a full country list here, including their contact details — in that country, and they will get your case started.
But if you’re not sure what to do, where your children are or if the destination country is a signatory to the Hague Convention, you should immediately contact a highly experienced solicitor in international child abduction cases. They can help you find out where your children are, make urgent applications to the courts to prevent further onward travel by the abducting parent (with port alerts and seizing passports), and file proceedings for the children’s return.
Child abduction cases in the UK are serious, negatively affecting the children, and can be a criminal act under the Child Abduction Act 1984, resulting in the jailing of the abducting parent. Getting assistance the moment child abduction happens is critical for the wellbeing of the child or children, restoring them to their country of habitual residence and contact with the other parent.
If you need help with child abduction in the UK, including if your case involves another country that may or may not be a Hague signatory, get in touch with our child law solicitors today.
