18 U.S.C. § 1204 — International parental kidnapping

submitted 33 years ago by Pub. L. 103-173 to r/title-18-CRIMES-AND-CRIMINAL-PROCEDURE · 300 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

It is a crime to remove a child from the United States to block a parent's custody rights. It is also a crime to keep a child abroad for that same reason. The penalty is a fine, up to 3 years in prison, or both. Defenses include fleeing domestic violence or having a valid custody order.

(a) It is a crime to remove a child from the United States, or try to, in order to interfere with someone else's parental rights. It is also a crime to keep a child outside the United States for that reason, if the child had been in the United States. The penalty is a fine, up to 3 years in prison, or both.

(b) This subsection defines two terms. A "child" is anyone under 16 years old. "Parental rights" means the right to physical custody of a child. This includes joint or sole custody and visiting rights. It applies whether the right comes from a law, a court order, or a binding agreement between the parties.

(c) There are three defenses to this crime. First, the defendant acted under a valid custody or visitation order, issued under specific child custody laws and in effect at the time. Second, the defendant was fleeing domestic violence. Third, the defendant had lawful custody but could not return the child due to circumstances beyond their control. This defense also requires that the defendant tried to notify the other parent within 24 hours, and returned the child as soon as possible.

(d) This section does not take away from The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction, an international treaty from 1980.

facts

- Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1204, titled "International parental kidnapping," part of the federal criminal code. - Enacted by Pub. L. 103–173, § 2(a), on December 2, 1993 (107 Stat. 1998). - Amended once by Pub. L. 108–21, title I, § 107, Apr. 30, 2003 (117 Stat. 655), reflecting two total source-credit references. - The statute's body text contains 300 words, organized into four subsections (a)–(d).

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)

Whoever removes a child from the United States, or attempts to do so, or retains a child (who has been in the United States) outside the United States with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both.

(b)

As used in this section—

(1)

the term “child” means a person who has not attained the age of 16 years; and

(2)

the term “parental rights”, with respect to a child, means the right to physical custody of the child—

(A)

whether joint or sole (and includes visiting rights); and

(B)

whether arising by operation of law, court order, or legally binding agreement of the parties.

(c)

It shall be an affirmative defense under this section that—

(1)

the defendant acted within the provisions of a valid court order granting the defendant legal custody or visitation rights and that order was obtained pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act or the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act and was in effect at the time of the offense;

(2)

the defendant was fleeing an incidence or pattern of domestic violence; or

(3)

the defendant had physical custody of the child pursuant to a court order granting legal custody or visitation rights and failed to return the child as a result of circumstances beyond the defendant’s control, and the defendant notified or made reasonable attempts to notify the other parent or lawful custodian of the child of such circumstances within 24 hours after the visitation period had expired and returned the child as soon as possible.

(d)

This section does not detract from The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction, done at The Hague on October 25, 1980.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 103–173, § 2(a), Dec. 2, 1993, 107 Stat. 1998; amended Pub. L. 108–21, title I, § 107, Apr. 30, 2003, 117 Stat. 655.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1993Enacted · Pub. L. 103-173 · 107 Stat. 1998
2003Amended · Pub. L. 108-21 · 117 Stat. 655

The record. According to the source credit, this section was added by Public Law 103–173, § 2(a), enacted December 2, 1993, and published at 107 Stat. 1998. It was subsequently amended once, by Public Law 108–21, title I, § 107, dated April 30, 2003, and published at 117 Stat. 655. The source credit does not describe the substance of that amendment beyond its citation. Historical context. Public Law 103–173 is commonly known as the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993. The Act is generally understood to have been enacted in response to concerns that existing federal law did not adequately address situations in which a parent removed a child from the United States, or retained a child abroad, in order to circumvent another parent's custodial or visitation rights. Prior to this legislation, remedies for such conduct were largely civil in nature, including those available under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and cross-border removal was not itself treated as a distinct federal criminal offense. The commonly cited purpose of the Act was to create a federal criminal remedy to deter international parental kidnapping and to supplement, rather than displace, existing civil mechanisms such as the Hague Convention, a relationship reflected in subsection (d) of the statutory text. The 2003 amendment postdates the original enactment by a decade, coinciding with a period of broader federal legislative activity concerning child protection, but the record here does not establish the specific legislative purpose behind that amendment, and none should be inferred.

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