Children and Adoption Act 2006

Children and Adoption Act 2006

2006 CHAPTER 20

Commentary on Sections and Schedules

Part 2 - Adoptions With A Foreign Element

Section 11 - The special restrictions

55. Section 11 makes provision for the special restrictions that may be applied by virtue of section 9. It provides that the appropriate authority is not to take any step which he or it may otherwise have taken to further the intercountry adoption.

56. The term 'appropriate authority' is defined in subsection (4). Who the appropriate authority is in a particular case will depend on whether or not the case is a Convention case; that is, one conducted under procedures established under the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption, concluded at The Hague on 29^th May 1993. If it is a Convention case then the appropriate authority will be the Central Authority: that is, in relation to England, the Secretary of State; in relation to Wales, the National Assembly for Wales; and in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. If it is not a Convention case, then the appropriate authority in England and Wales is the Secretary of State, and in Northern Ireland is the Secretary of State and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, for the purposes of the steps in the process which each takes.

57. The effect of the restrictions is that the Secretary of State, the National Assembly for Wales or the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety would no longer process intercountry adoption cases from the restricted country. The steps referred to would include, for example, the issuing of a certificate of eligibility to adopt and the forwarding of matching reports from the child's country of origin to the prospective adopters by those acting on behalf of the Secretary of State.

58. Subsection (2) also provides, however, for adoptions to be permitted to continue in exceptional cases - that is, cases where the prospective adopters are able to satisfy the appropriate authority (or, in the case of non-Convention cases in Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State) that the adoption should proceed. Subsection (3) allows regulations to provide for the procedure to be followed by the appropriate authority (or, in the case of non-Convention cases in Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State) in the consideration of exceptional cases and a non-exhaustive list of matters that must be taken into account.