Chapter 9 Key facts checklists

International parent-child abduction

Section 1(2) Child Abduction Act 1984 (CAA 1984) makes it an offence for a person connected with the child to remove a child under 16 from the UK without appropriate consent.
Child abduction may involve taking a child abroad without consent (removal), or by keeping a child abroad beyond a period for which consent was given (retention).
Recovery of an abducted child in England and Wales may be achieved through the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU), if the child is in a country which has ratified the Hague Convention 1980 (HC 1980), the Hague Convention 1996 (HC 1996), or the European Convention. The European Convention has been mostly superceded by the Revised Brussels II Regulations in EU Countries.
The defences contained in Articles 12 and 13 HC 1980 may be used (though these rarely succeed).
If the child is in a country which is not a party to any of the Conventions, it may be necessary to take civil proceedings through the courts in that country.
If a child is brought into England and Wales from another country, they may be recovered by the use of orders under s 8 Children Act 1989 or by making the child a ward of court.
There may be changes to the law on child abduction subject to the United Kingdom leaving the EU.