The Abduction
Unlawful removal of a child under 18 from lawful custody, punishable under § 215(1).
Abduction in Danish criminal law is the act of unlawfully removing a child under 18 from the custody or care of the parents or another rightful guardian. The concept is not a separate statutory offence designation but is regulated through the Danish Penal Code (straffeloven) § 215(1), which refers to § 261 on deprivation of liberty. Under § 215(1), a person who removes a person under 18 from parental custody or care, or who assists in doing so, is punished according to the rules of § 261.
The provision covers both cases where the child is physically taken away and cases where the child is withheld contrary to lawful custody — for example where a parent refuses to return the child after contact. The most common application of the provision concerns so-called child abductions, where a parent — typically without the other parent's consent — takes the child abroad or keeps the child hidden in Denmark. Such cases often raise questions of private international law and the application of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, to which Denmark is a party.
The penalty for violating § 215(1), cf. § 261, is in principle a fine or imprisonment for up to 4 years. If the deprivation of liberty was committed for financial gain, was of long duration, or the child was placed in captivity or other dependency in a foreign country, the penalty may rise to imprisonment for up to 12 years (§ 261(2)).
