19 children were allegedly taken out of Malta illegally in 2020 as child abductions spiked. The kids were taken out of the country by one of their parents/guardians due to a trend fuelled by ‘opportunities and travel complications’ created by the epidemiological situation.

Family lawyer Robert Thake, who specialises in child abduction cases notice the uptick, saying that COVID-19 added a layer of complication as courts stopped operating and flights were halted for months. 

Thake stated that COVID did impact the spike in child abductions because in some cases, parents took advantage of the circumstances created by the pandemic. He revealed how he had clients leaving to the UK to visit their family but staying there and blaming it on the risk of travelling during the pandemic.

‘As time passes’ he said, ‘the children are setting up roots in that country – like going to school – making the return process more complicated.’ This prompted Thake to call for child abduction to become a crime in Malta.

According to the Maltese Central Authority, which handles child abduction cases, around 104 children were reported to have been abducted and taken out of Malta illegally over the past decade. The numbers peaked in 2020. 

‘Taking a child away from a parent and forcing a child and a parent out of contact should be a crime. Making it a crime would, at least, act as a deterrent. This sort of illegal removal is very cruel on both the child and on the left-behind parent’ he said. 

Thake had 12 enquiries and cases, with two new ones just this January. Clients were seeking the return of their children from places such as UK, France, Libya, Ukraine, Sweden, Germany, North Macedonia and Guatemala. Most children were under aged 10 and were taken out of Malta by their foreign mother. 

Under current civil law, a child must have the written consent of both parents to be able to leave the island. However, if one parent takes the child out of the country without permission of the other parent, this constitutes a breach of civil law and not criminal law. This means it is not punishable. 

Recent Criminal Code amendments make it a crime to remove a child from Malta if this is in breach of a court order or a care order. Thake believes this does not go far enough, saying it is an excellent amendment but falls short. 

This is because abductions can, and often, happen when the court isn’t involved. Sometimes, the parents are still in a relationship, with cases falling under two categories. 

The first is illegal removal, which is commonly referred to as abduction, and is when a child is removed from he child’s country of habitual residence without the consent of the other parent. On the other hand, illegal retention is when a parent is given consent to travel for a defined period but refuses tor return at the expiration of the time period. 

#MaltaDaily