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 suprem ...

. 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 En ...

, the offence of

child stealing Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor (a child under the age of legal adulthood) from the custody of the child's natural parents or legally appointed guardians. The term ''child abduction'' includes two lega ...

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 ( 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 Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I of ...

2 FLR 252,

Fam Law 522, CA *''R v Sherry and El Yamani'' 993

Crim LR Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case ci ...

536, CA ;Sentence See section 4(1). See th
Crown Prosecution Service sentencing manual
And see ''R v Brennan''

007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

2 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 t ...

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 Emp ...

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'' 0002 Cr App R (S) 253 *''R v Mawdsley'' 0011 Cr App R (S) 101 *''R v Delaney'' 0032 Cr App R (S) 81 *''R v J A and others'' 0021 Cr App R (S) 108 *''R v Prime'' 0051 Cr App R (S) 45 *''R v Delaney''

1 Cr App R (S) 93 *''R v Serrant''

2 Cr App R (S) 80 *''R v M'' 0082 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 Mea ...

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