132 Intercountry Adoption: Past, Present and Future Concerns Regarding its Existence and Regulation. Chantel Ryan * ABSTRACT Intercountry adoption is the practice by which adults resident in one country adopt a child resident in another country. Commentators have been mooting a number of options in regard to the future of intercountry adoption. Such options include - amending the Hague Convention so as to strengthen its effect; drafting an entirely new Convention on intercountry adoption so as to increase control; ceasing legal regulation and control of the practice, in effect accepting that private international law is an inappropriate forum for such regulation; and banning the practice of intercountry adoption altogether, in a bid to cease abuses associated with intercountry adoption. This paper assesses these options in light of the history of intercountry adoption and its associated problems. I. INTRODUCTION “…the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding” 1 Adoption is not a new event. On the contrary, this universal practice can be traced as far back as Biblical times. 2 The movement of children across international borders for the purposes of adoption, however, is a relatively recent occurrence. This activity, known interchangeably as “intercountry adoption” or “international adoption”, involves “a child living in one country, the prospective adoptive parents living in another country, and the transfer of the child to that country to live there with the adoptive parents”. 3 The practice first gained widespread public attention in * LLB(Hons)(Murdoch University) 1 Hague Conference on Private International Law: Final Act of the 17th Session, Including the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, Convention No.33, 29 May 1993, 32 I.L.M 1134, extract from preamble [hereinafter Hague Convention]. 2 Carro, J.L., “Regulation of Intercountry Adoption: Can the Abuses Come to an End?” (1994-1995) 18 Hastings Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 121, 121. 3 Jareborg, M.J., “Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption” (1994) 63 Nordic J. Int’l L. 185 , 185.
Intercountry Adoption: Past, Present and Future Concerns Regarding its Existence and Regulation
Jul 09, 2023
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Related Documents
