The Child Abduction Act 1984 (c 37) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. It creates offences that replace, in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

, the offence of child stealing under section 56 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.

Part I – Offences under the law of England and Wales

Section 1 – Offence of abduction of child by parent etc

Section 1(1) provides that, subject to sections 1(5) to (8), it is an offence for a person connected with a child under the age of sixteen to take or send the child out of the United Kingdom without the appropriate consent. The following cases are relevant to this section: *''R v C''

991 Year 991 (Roman numerals, CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Peace and Truce of God, Truce of God, between ...

2 FLR 252,

Fam Law 522, CA *''R v Sherry and El Yamani''

993 Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...

Crim LR 536, CA ;Sentence See section 4(1). See th
Crown Prosecution Service sentencing manual
And see ''R v Brennan'' 0072 Cr App R (S) 50

Section 2 – Offence of abduction of child by other persons

Section 2(1) provides that, subject to section 2(3), it is an offence for a person, other than one mentioned in section 2(2), to take or detain a child under the age of sixteen so as to remove him from the lawful control of any person having lawful control of him, or, so as to keep him out of the lawful control of any person entitled to lawful control of him. without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. This section is disapplied by section 51 of the

Children Act 1989 The Children Act 1989 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which allocates duties to local authorities, courts, parents, and other agencies in the United Kingdom, to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted. It centres on th ...

for any child who has been certified at risk and placed in a foster or care home. The following cases are relevant: *''R v Leather'', 98 Cr App R 179, CA *''R v Berry''

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Em ...

Crim LR 574, The Times, 29 January 1996, CA ;Sentence See section 4(1). See th
Crown Prosecution Service sentencing manual
And see the following cases: *''R v Dean''

000 Triple zero, Triple Zero, Zero Zero Zero, Triple 0, Triple-0, 000, or 0-0-0 may refer to: * 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number * "Triple Zero", a song by AFI (band), AFI from ''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your ...

2 Cr App R (S) 253 *''R v Mawdsley''

001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: *1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...

1 Cr App R (S) 101 *''R v Delaney''

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

2 Cr App R (S) 81 *''R v J A and others''

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'', *1965 Italian film *Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 ...

1 Cr App R (S) 108 *''R v Prime''

005 ''005'' is a 1981 arcade game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings". It is one of the first examples of a ...

1 Cr App R (S) 45 *''R v Delaney'' 0071 Cr App R (S) 93 *''R v Serrant'' 0072 Cr App R (S) 80 *''R v M''

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...

2 Cr App R (S) 73

Section 5 – Restriction on prosecutions for offence of kidnapping

Part II – Offence under the law of Scotland

Part III – Supplementary

Section 13 – Short title, commencement and extent

Section 13(2) provides that the Act came into force at the end of the period of three months that began on the day on which it was passed. The word "months" means

calendar month A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

s. The day (that is to say, 12 July 1984) on which the Act was passed (that is to say, received royal assent) is included in the period of three months.Hare v Gocher

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

2 QB 641,

2 All ER 673; Trow v Ind Coope (West Midlands) Ltd

967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the ne ...

2 QB 899 at 909,

2 All ER 900, CA. This means that the Act came into force on 12 October 1984.

References

Halsbury's Statutes ''Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales'' (commonly referred to as ''Halsbury's Statutes'') provides updated texts of every Public General Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Measure of the Welsh Assembly, or Church of England Measur ...

External links

*
The Child Abduction Act 1984
as amended from the National Archives
The Child Abduction Act 1984
as originally enacted from the National Archives
Crown Prosecution Service guidance - prosecuting cases of child abuse
{{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1984