IF YOUR CHILD HAS BEEN ABDUCTED TO ANOTHER PART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
Part I of the Family Law Act 1986 was passed to ensure that the courts in the part of the United Kingdom with which the child has the closest long-term connections will be the ones to determine questions of custody and access. The Act also allows for orders made in one part of the UK to be recognised in another part.
The person wishing to have an order enforced should apply to the court which made the order. That court will then forward the papers to the appropriate court in the part of the United Kingdom where the child is, which will then register it. Once it is registered in this way, the order can be enforced in that other part of the UK.
The court may also order passports to be surrendered, the disclosure of the child's whereabouts or particulars of other proceedings concerning the child, and may give special authority to an appropriate officer of the court to recover the child.
A court in one part of the country may order that a child may not be removed from the United Kingdom or such a part of it as the court may specify. Such an order is enforceable throughout the UK. Only the court which made the order may give consent to the child's being taken abroad.
PRACTICAL STEPS
If you have a Custody Order
If the child is in England & Wales, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, and if you have a court order giving you custody, then your solicitor will be able to arrange for it to be registered there for enforcement through the local court.
The Family Law Act 1986 does not extend to the Channel Islands and if the child is there, you will need to get a local solicitor to get a court order there.
Your Scottish solicitor should be able to put you in touch with a local solicitor to act on your behalf.
Scottish Legal Aid will not cover work outside Scotland, but you may be covered by the legal aid scheme in the other part of the UK.
If you do not have a Custody Order
If you do not have a custody order, then you will need to get a solicitor to go to court either in Scotland or in the other country to get a custody and delivery order.
If you have an Access Order
You should be able to apply to the courts in the same way as above.