Child Abduction Act 1984
| Author | R. J. Cooper |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201838504900112 |
| Published date | 01 February 1985 |
| Date | 01 February 1985 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
CHILD
ABDUCTION
ACT
1984
R. J. Cooper"
The Child Abduction Act 1984 came into force on October 12,
1984, following its successful passage through Parliament as a
private member's bill. Although this new legislation originated
from the recommendations of the Criminal Law Revision Com-
mittee in its 14th Report (1980) on Offences Against the Person
(Cmnd. 7844), there are significant deviations from these recom-
mendations in its final form.
Part I of the Act amends the criminal law relating to the
abduction of children under the law of England and Wales and Part
II
deals with the law of Scotland on this matter. This commentary
looks only at Part I.
By section 11(5) of the new Act the offence of child stealing
under section 56 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 is
abolished and two new offences of abduction are created by sections
1 and 2.
The
newly created section 1 offence is aimed at parents
(and others in similar relationship to a child) removing the child
from the jurisdiction, while section 2 is directed at abduction by
persons not so related and does not necessarily involve removal
from the United Kingdom. Section 1provides that, subject to
certain provisions,
"a
person connected with a child under the age
of sixteen commits an offence if he takes or sends the child out of the
United Kingdom without the appropriate consent". The class of
persons who can be guilty of this offence are those "connected
with" the child. A threefold classification of such persons is given by
section 1(2), namely: (a) a parent or guardian of the child; (b) a
person in whose favour acustody
order
(solely or jointly with
another), awarded by a court in England or Wales, is in force; or (c)
in the case of an illegitimate child, the person who is, on reasonable
grounds, believed to be the father. Such persons then commit an
offence by taking or sending the under-16-year-old out of the
United Kingdom. "Taking and sending" are given an extended
• School of Law, The Polytechnic, Newcastle upon Tyne.
69
To continue reading
Request your trial