ELIZABETH II
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Child Abduction Act 1984
1984 CHAPTER 37
An Act to amend the criminal law relating to the abduction of children.
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Offences under Law of England and Wales
Offence of abduction of child by parent etc. 1.—(1) Subject to subsections (5) and (8) below, 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.
(2) A person is connected with a child for the purposes of this section if—
- (a) he is a parent or guardian of the child; or
- (b) there is in force an order of a court in England or Wales awarding custody of the child to him, whether solely or jointly with any other person; or
- (c) in the case of an illegitimate child, there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is the father of the child.
(3) In this section “the appropriate consent”, in relation to a child, means—
- (a) the consent of each person—
- (i) who is a parent or guardian of the child; or
