El delito de sustracción de menores

Abstract

The crime of child abduction (Article 225 bis of the Penal Code) has been increasing in incidence in recent years. This doctoral thesis includes the reform of the crime operated by Organic Law 8/2021, of June 4, which has not yet entered into force. The crime includes the conduct of a parent who transfers or retains a minor child unlawfully, a conduct that can also be perpetrated by the closest relatives listed in the criminal precept itself. Aspects as relevant as the legal good protected by the crime, the active and passive subjects or the scope of application of the aggravated and attenuated types are analyzed in detail within the research, including proposals of lege ferenda that will improve the drafting and application of the criminal type. It is a criminal modality little exploited by the doctrine, which has gone unnoticed for a long time, although the increase in the number of cases and the repercussion of several of them in the media has been giving it more and more prominence. Also, as this doctoral thesis is co-directed with the University of Florence, a comparative study with the Italian crime of child abduction is introduced.