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20 November 2014 / Sarah Taylor
Issue: 7631 / Categories: Opinion , Child law
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Bringing them home

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Sarah Taylor explains why the Law Commission is recommending changes to the law of child abduction

The Law Commission’s report, Simplification of the Criminal law: Kidnapping and related offences, was published yesterday (20 November 2014). The report recommends the creation of new statutory offences of kidnapping and unlawful detention to replace the common law in this area. The Commission also recommends changes to the law of child abduction, and that aspect of the report is the focus of this article.

The current law

There are two child abduction offences under the Child Abduction Act 1984 (CAA 1984).

  • First, s 1, child abduction by parents (or connected persons), committed by taking or sending a child out of the UK without the appropriate consent.
  • Second, s 2, child abduction by other persons, by taking or detaining a child from persons with lawful control of the child.

Accordingly, s 1 does not apply where a parent takes a child outside the UK with appropriate consent but retains the child beyond the period for which permission

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