Prospects for Bringing Parents and Other Close Relatives to Criminal Responsibility for the Abduction of Their Children

Abstract

The paper notes that nowadays scientific literature does not pay enough attention to the issue of the possibility of prosecution of parents and other close relatives for the abduction of their own children. Meanwhile, the settlement of conflicts arising in relation to the abduction of children from persons with whom they reside is relevant. A study in the paper shows that the law of foreign countries provides several models of legal regulation of the problem situation. It is noted that the prevailing model does not differentiate between criminal responsibility according to the kin relations between the subject of criminal prosecution and the victim. In order to establish the object of criminal law protection, suffering from the unlawful seizure of children, the author analyzes the concept of physical liberty in relation to minors. The analysis of court practice shows that parents who have committed the act of abduction of the child, are brought to administrative responsibility. The author proposes a theoretical model of the possible rules on responsibility for the abduction of a child committed by a relative.