1kbw - Child Abduction Barristers

Child abduction is the illegal abduction of a child or baby by an older person.

1kbw routinely provides barristers to deal with the serious issue of child abduction. This situation most commonly occurs when parents separate or commence divorce proceedings. The most common reason for this is that the abducting parent hopes to gain an advantage in child-custody proceedings or because that parent expects to lose custody of the child in such a custody case. In other cases a parent may refuse to return the child after an access visit or they may flee with the child to prevent access by the other parent. Child abduction is not always permanent. Half of all children abducted by a parent are gone for less than one week. However, a significant minority of children are abducted for much longer, and return of the child in such cases typically demands the services of a child abduction barrister.

Abduction in the UK

Removal of a child from the UK for a period of 28 days or more without the permission of the other parent (or person with parental responsibility), is a criminal offense. However, this can be complicated by the fact that the same act may not be illegal in the country the child has been taken to. It was because of this the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, an international treaty, was created to provide legal mechanisms for parents and their barristers to recover children abducted to another country by one parent or family member.

US and EU authorities have developed mechanisms for barrister mediation in some international child abduction cases. This mechanism is supported by REUNITE, a London-based NGO which provides support in international child abduction cases.

Child abduction cases are not new. However, the incidence of international child abduction continues to increase due to the ease of international travel, increase in bi-cultural marriages and a high divorce rate.

Child abduction law is one of the specialities of 1kbw’s family law barristers.

Read about our services for child abduction cases and general family law.