Is unauthorised removal by father legal ?

[Cannedtuna]

I was looking at this :

https://rightsofwomen.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Children-and-the-law-child-abduction-DIGITAL.pdf

Child abduction is the unauthorised
removal of a child from one of their
parents or from the country where they
normally live by either parent. The removal
of the child will be unauthorised if either
parent did not agree or the removal is not
approved by the court.

If the
unauthorised removal of a child is within
the UK, it is not a criminal offence.

Your child’s father may abduct the child
and stay within England or Wales, for
example, he may have kept the child
after contact or taken them on holiday
in England and Wales without your
permission. If there are already court
orders in place, the police may be able to
help you. It is unlikely that the police will
take the child away from him and return
them to you unless you already have a
court order saying the child should be
with you or there is a real risk of serious
harm to the child with their father.

Someone has also recently told me that the law changed in 2012 and that a father can legally take away his child from his mum and the coppers cannot do anything. The mum then has to apply for child contact order.

Apologies if I have asked this previously but does the above sound right and what is this 2012 law?

 

[Ash]

Neither parent should keep the child away from the other one. I suggest you get some legal advice as it's a big issue. The only thing I know that happened in 2012 was Child Arrangements Programme coming in (formerly it was Contact and Residence orders and changed to Child Arrangements orders with the childrens act being amended accordingly).

The correct way to get to see your child is apply to the court (or get legal advice as to how you can gain access to your child). I think if your child is a baby and you kept her you would certainly have the police on your doorstep and be accused of abduction. Unless you had grounds and had applied for an urgent temporary residence order - but you need to check all this with a solicitor.

 

[C&ADad]

I was looking at this :

https://rightsofwomen.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Children-and-the-law-child-abduction-DIGITAL.pdf

Child abduction is the unauthorised
removal of a child from one of their
parents or from the country where they
normally live by either parent. The removal
of the child will be unauthorised if either
parent did not agree or the removal is not
approved by the court.

If the
unauthorised removal of a child is within
the UK, it is not a criminal offence.

Your child’s father may abduct the child
and stay within England or Wales, for
example, he may have kept the child
after contact or taken them on holiday
in England and Wales without your
permission. If there are already court
orders in place, the police may be able to
help you. It is unlikely that the police will
take the child away from him and return
them to you unless you already have a
court order saying the child should be
with you or there is a real risk of serious
harm to the child with their father.

Someone has also recently told me that the law changed in 2012 and that a father can legally take away his child from his mum and the coppers cannot do anything. The mum then has to apply for child contact order.

Apologies if I have asked this previously but does the above sound right and what is this 2012 law?

Apologies for being open here, but if you're thinking of doing what I think you are, it could well be the biggest mistake of your life. Experience (not mine I hasten to add) tells me that you would be arrested. And that incident would follow you throughout this entire process, and you'd most likely end up with less contact than you will if you do things the right way, because you will be seen as someone who "can't be trusted". It may not be a criminal offence, but you're in the family court now, not the criminal court, and doing something like that would be a complete disaster for you as you go into hearings, potential fact findings etc. You would never, ever hear the end of it.

Being 'child focussed' is a hard thing sometimes. Its not the same as simply loving your child. We all love our children, but being child focussed is always, no matter what, doing what is in the child's best interests.

I don't know what legal advice you've taken so sorry if you're asking this off the back of a chat with a solicitor who's advocating such a move, but if you haven't taken professional advice then ask yourself this. Could you effectively justify & prove to a family court judge how abducting your child was in his/ her best interests?

Its your case ultimately and apologies if I offend, but this would be the absolute last course of action I would be considering right now.

Call a solicitor- most will give you 30 mins for free. And start the ball rolling with an application- thats your first step- you'll get guidance on how to do that here. And I think you should do something to get your head together, I don't think you're thinking clearly on this. And that will lead to doing unwise things. If you are being accused of being controlling already, the last thing you want to be doing is something that a controlling person would do.

Have you made any kind of application at all at this stage or spoken to a solicitor?