[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback]
	Statutes of Northern Ireland
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Statutes of Northern Ireland >> URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_act/aai1967267.txt

[New search] [Help]

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - LONG TITLE

An Act to consolidate with amendments the enactments relating to the
adoption of infants; to extend the power of the court to make
adoption orders; to provide further for the protection of infants
awaiting adoption; to provide for effect to be given to certain
adoption orders made outside Northern Ireland; to facilitate the
proof of adoption orders made in different parts of the United
Kingdom; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.{1}
[14th December 1967]
1962 c.30

Power to make adoption orders.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 1

1.(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act the court may, upon an
application made in the prescribed manner by a person

(a)domiciled anywhere in the United Kingdom, or in the Isle of Man
or any of the Channel Islands, and a resident in Northern Ireland;
or

(b)domiciled, but not ordinarily resident, in Northern Ireland;

(2) An adoption order may be made on the application of two
spouses authorising them jointly to adopt an infant; but an adoption
order shall not in any other case be made authorising more than
one person to adopt an infant.

(3) An adoption order may be made authorising the adoption of an
infant by the mother or father of the infant, either alone or
jointly with her or his spouse.

(4) An adoption order may be made in respect of an infant who has
already been the subject of an order authorising an adoption

(a)made under this Act or under the Adoption of Children Act
(Northern Ireland) 1950 or under any enactment repealed by the said
Act of 1950; or

(b)made (whether before or after the commencement of this Act)
anywhere in Great Britain, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel
Islands.

(5) In relation to an application for an adoption order in respect
of such an infant as is mentioned in subsection (4), the adopter
or adopters under the previous or last previous order authorising an
adoption shall be deemed to be the parent or parents of the infant
for all the purposes of this Act.

(6) An adoption order shall not be made unless the infant resides
in Northern Ireland.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 2
Age and sex of applicant.

2.(1) An adoption order shall not be made in respect of an infant
unless the applicant

(a)is the mother or father of the infant; or

(b)is a relative of the infant, and has attained the age of
twenty-one years; or

(c)has attained the age of twenty-five years.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) an adoption order
shall not be made in respect of an infant on the joint application
of two spouses unless

(a)one of the applicants is the mother or father of the infant; or

(b)the condition set out in subsection (1)(b) or (c) is satisfied
in the case of one of the applicants and the other of them has
attained the age of twenty-one years.

(3) An adoption order shall not be made in respect of an infant
who is a female in favour of a sole applicant who is a male,
unless the court is satisfied that there are special circumstances
which justify as an exceptional measure the making of an adoption
order.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 3
Care and possession of infants before adoption, and notification of
the Ministry of Home Affairs.

3.(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, an adoption order
shall not be made in respect of any infant unless

(a)he has been continuously in the care and possession of the
applicant in Northern Ireland for at least three consecutive months
immediately preceding the date of the order (not counting any time
before the date which appears to the court to be the date on
which the infant attained the age of six weeks); and

(b)except where

(i)the applicant or one of the applicants is a parent of the
infant; or

(ii)the infant is, at the hearing of the application, over the
upper limit of the compulsory school age;

(b)the applicant has, during the period of care and possession
referred to in paragraph (a) and at least three months before the
date of the order, served notice in writing on [the Ministry of
Home Affairs] ... of his intention to apply for an adoption order
in respect of the infant.

(2) In relation to an application for an adoption order by a
person domiciled but not ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland
subsection (1)(b) shall apply with the substitution of the word
"living" for the word "resident".

(3) Where an application for an adoption order is made jointly by
spouses who are not, or one of whom is not, ordinarily resident in
Northern Ireland

(a)the provisions of subsection (1)(a) shall be deemed to be
complied with if they are complied with in the case of one of the
applicants and the applicants have been living together in Northern
Ireland for at least one of the three months immediately preceding
the date of the adoption order; and

(b)the notice required by subsection (1)(b) (as modified by
subsection (2)) may be given by either of the applicants.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 4
Consents.

4.(1) Subject to section 5, an adoption order shall not be made

(a)in any case, except with the consent of every person who is a
parent or guardian of the infant;

(b)on the application of one of two spouses, except with the
consent of the other spouse.

(2) The consent of any person to the making of an adoption order
may be given either before or after an application has been made
for the order and may be given

(a)either generally in respect of the adoption of the infant or
only in respect of the adoption of the infant by a specified
person; and

(b)either unconditionally or subject to conditions with respect to
the religious persuasion in which the infant is to be brought up.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (2), the consent of the
mother of an infant shall be of no effect for the purposes of
this section if given earlier than six weeks after the birth of
the infant.

(4) The reference in subsection (1)(a) to a parent of an infant
does not include a reference to any person having the rights and
powers of a parent of the infant by virtue of any of the
following provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern
Ireland) [1968], that is to say

(a)[section 91, or paragraph 14(1) of Schedule 5] (which relate to
the exercise of parental rights in respect of children and young
persons committed to the care of fit persons or ordered to be sent
to training schools);

(b)[section 105] (which applies to children in respect of whom [the
Ministry of Home Affairs] have assumed parental rights by virtue of
a parental rights order made under [section 104] of that Act).

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 5
Power to dispense with consent.

5.(1) The court may dispense with any consent required by section
4(1)(a) if it is satisfied that the person whose consent is to be
dispensed with

(a)has abandoned, neglected or persistently ill-treated the infant; or

(b)cannot be found, or is incapable of giving his consent; or

(c)has persistently failed without reasonable cause to discharge the
obligations of a parent or guardian of the infant; or

(d)is withholding his consent unreasonably; or

(e)in any other case is a person whose consent ought in the
opinion of the court to be dispensed with;

(2) Where a person who has given his consent to the making of an
adoption order without knowing the identity of the applicant,
subsequently withdraws his consent on the ground only that he does
not know the identity of the applicant, his consent shall be deemed
for the purposes of this section to be unreasonably withheld.

(3) The court may dispense with the consent of the spouse of an
applicant for an adoption order if it is satisfied that the person
whose consent is to be dispensed with cannot be found or is
incapable of giving his consent or that the spouses have separated
and are living apart and that the separation is likely to be
permanent.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 6
Evidence of consent of parent or guardian.

6.(1) Subject to subsection (2), where a parent or guardian of an
infant does not attend in the proceedings on an application for an
adoption order for the purpose of giving his consent to the making
of the order

(a)a document signifying his consent to the making of such an order
shall be admissible as evidence of that consent whether the document
is executed before or after the commencement of the proceedings; and

(b)where that document is attested as mentioned in subsection (3),
it shall be admissible as aforesaid without further proof of the
signature of the person by whom it is executed.

(2) Without prejudice to section 4(3), a document signifying the
consent of the mother of an infant shall not be admissible under
this section unless

(a)the infant is at least six weeks old on the date of the
execution of the document; and

(b)the document is attested on that date as mentioned in subsection
(3).

(3) Any reference in this section to a document being attested as
mentioned in this subsection is, if the document is executed in the
United Kingdom, a reference to its being attested by either a
justice of the peace or

(a)if it is executed in Northern Ireland, an officer of a county
court [designated for the purposes of Article 56 of the County
Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980], or any officer of the Supreme
Court appointed by the Lord Chief Justice for the purposes of
attesting such a document;

(b)if it is executed in England, an officer of a county court
appointed for the purposes of section 87 of the County Courts Act
1959, or a justice's clerk within the meaning of section 21 of the
Justices of the Peace Act 1949;

(c)if it is executed in Scotland, the sheriff;

(4) For the purposes of this section a document purporting to be
attested as mentioned in subsection (3) shall be deemed to be so
attested, and to be executed and attested on the date and at the
place specified in the document, unless the contrary is proved.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 7
Function of court as to adoption order.

7.(1) The court before making an adoption order shall be satisfied

(a)that every person whose consent is necessary under this Act, and
whose consent is not dispensed with, has consented to and
understands the nature and effect of the adoption order for which
the application is made, and in particular in the case of any
parent understands that the effect of the adoption order will be
permanently to deprive him or her of his or her parental rights;

(b)that the order if made will be for the welfare of the infant,
due consideration being given to the wishes of the infant, having
regard to the age and understanding of the infant; and

(c)that the applicant has not received or agreed to receive, and
that no person has made or given or agreed to make or give to
the applicant, any payment or other reward in consideration of the
adoption except such as the court may sanction or such payments as
are mentioned in section 35(2).

(2) In determining whether an adoption order if made will be for
the welfare of the infant, the court shall have regard (among other
things) to the health of the applicant, and, in the case of an
application by two spouses, to the health of both spouses.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) the health of any applicant
for an adoption order shall, except where

(a)the infant has reached the upper limit of the compulsory school
age at the hearing of the application; or

(b)the applicant is the mother or father of the infant;

(4) The court in an adoption order may impose such terms and
conditions as the court may think fit in the interests of the
infant, and in particular may require the adopter by bond or
otherwise to make for the infant such provision, if any, as in the
opinion of the court is just and expedient.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 8
Power to postpone determination of application for an adoption order.

8.(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the court may,
upon any application for an adoption order, postpone the
determination of the application and make an interim order giving
the custody of the infant to the applicant for a period not
exceeding two years by way of a probationary period upon such terms
as regards provision for the maintenance, and education and
supervision of the welfare of the infant and otherwise as the court
may think fit.

(2) All such consents as are required to an adoption order shall
be necessary to an interim order, but subject to a like power on
the part of the court to dispense with any such consent.

(3) An interim order shall not be made in any case where the
making of an adoption order would be unlawful by virtue of section
3.

(4) Where an interim order has been made giving the custody of an
infant for a period of less than two years, the court may by
order extend that period, but the total period for which the
custody of the infant is given to the applicant under the order as
varied under this subsection shall not exceed two years.

(5) Where an interim order is in force in respect of any infant
the applicant shall within the prescribed time and in accordance
with Adoption Rules, apply to the court which made the interim
order for

(a)the final determination of the application for an adoption order
in respect of the infant; or

(b)the discharge of the interim order.

(6) If the applicant fails to apply under subsection (5) it shall,
subject to Adoption Rules, be the duty of the guardian ad litem to
apply for the final determination of the application for an adoption
order.

(7) An interim order shall not be deemed to be an adoption order
within the meaning of this Act.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 9
Jurisdiction and procedure.

9.(1) Without prejudice to section 8(5) and subject to subsection
(2), an application for an adoption order may be made, in
accordance with Adoption Rules, to the High Court or at the option
of the applicant to any county court within the jurisdiction of
which either the applicant or the infant resides at the date of
that application.

(2) In relation to an applicant for an adoption order who is
domiciled but not ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland, subsection
(1) shall apply with the substitution of the word "lives" for the
word "resides".

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 10
Appeal by way of re-hearing from the county court.

10. Without prejudice to [Articles 61 and 65 of the County Courts
(Northern Ireland) Order 1980], any person aggrieved with a decision
of a county court on an application made to it under this Part
may appeal from that decision as if the decision had been made in
exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by Part III of [that Order
and the appeal were brought under Article 60 of that Order].

Guardian ad litem.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 11

11.(1) For the purposes of any application for an adoption order
the court shall, subject to Adoption Rules, appoint

(a)[the Ministry of Home Affairs] ...;

(b)some other person;

(2) Subject to Adoption Rules, it shall be the duty of the
guardian ad litem to safeguard the interests of the infant
concerned.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 12
Protection of infants awaiting adoption.

12. Where notice of intention to apply for an adoption order in
respect of an infant is served in accordance with section 3 and
immediately before the service of that notice any of the provisions
of Part I of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland)
[1968] applied in respect of the infant, those provisions shall
continue to apply until the making of an adoption order or until
those provisions cease to apply by virtue of [section 10] of the
said Act of [1968].

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 13
Restriction on removal of infant from the care of an applicant for
an adoption order.

13. Without prejudice to the powers of ... [the Ministry of Home
Affairs] under Part I of the Children and Young Persons Act
(Northern Ireland) [1968] and to section 14, while an application
for an adoption order in respect of an infant is pending in any
court

(a)a parent or guardian of the infant who has signified his consent
to the making of an adoption order in respect of the infant; or

(b)any person or body, other than a parent or guardian;

1968 c.34

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 14

14. While an application for an adoption order in respect of an
infant is pending in any court and

(a)the applicant dies, or, in the case of a joint application, one
or both of the applicants die, [the Ministry of Home Affairs]; or

(b)the applicant becomes unwilling to retain the care and possession
of the infant, the applicant or [the Ministry of Home Affairs];

Death of applicant or unwillingness to continue with application.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 15

15. Without prejudice to the duty of [the Ministry of Home Affairs]
under [section 103] of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern
Ireland) [1968], where in respect of any infant

(a)an application for an adoption order is not proceeded with; or

(b)an application for an adoption order is refused and an interim
order is not made; or

(c)an application for the discharge of an interim order is granted;

Duty of Ministry of Home Affairs in respect of infant not adopted.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 16

16.(1) Upon an adoption order being made

(a)all rights, duties, obligations and liabilities of the parents or
guardians of the adopted child in relation to the future custody,
maintenance, upbringing and education of the child (including all
rights to appoint a guardian or to consent or give notice of
dissent to marriage) shall be extinguished; and

(b)all such rights, duties, obligations and liabilities shall vest in
and be exercisable by and enforceable against the adopter as if the
adopted child were a child born to the adopter in lawful wedlock;

(2) In any case where two spouses are the adopters, the spouses
shall in respect of the matters aforesaid, and for the purpose of
the jurisdiction of any court to make orders as to the custody and
maintenance of and right of access to children, stand to each other
and to the adopted child in the same relation as they would have
stood if they had been the lawful father and mother of the child
and the adopted child shall stand to them in the same relation as
to a lawful father and mother.

(3) For the purpose of the law relating to marriage, an adopter
and the person whom he has been authorised to adopt under an
adoption order shall be deemed to be within the prohibited degrees
of consanguinity; and the provisions of this subsection shall
continue to have effect notwithstanding that some person other than
the adopter is authorised by a subsequent order to adopt the same
infant.

(4) Subsection (3) shall not (without prejudice to section 28(2) of
the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954) affect any marriage
solemnised before the commencement of this Act.

(5) The references in this section to an adoption order include
references to

(a)an order authorising an adoption made under the Adoption of
Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950, or any enactment repealed by
that Act; and

(b)an order authorising an adoption made (whether before or after
the commencement of this Act) anywhere in Great Britain, the Isle
of Man or any of the Channel Islands.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 17
1950 c.6

17.(1) Where an adoption order is made in respect of an infant who
is illegitimate, then, unless the adopter is his mother and the
mother is a single woman

(a)any affiliation order in force with respect to the infant; and

(b)any agreement whereby the father of the infant has undertaken to
make payments specifically for the benefit of the infant;

(2) Subsection (1) shall be without prejudice to the recovery of
any arrears which are due under an affiliation order or an
agreement mentioned in subsection (1)(b) at the date of the adoption
order.

(3) After an adoption order has been made in respect of an infant
who is illegitimate, no affiliation order shall be made after the
commencement of this Act with respect to the infant unless the
adoption order was made on the application of the mother of the
infant alone.

(4) Where an adoption order is made in respect of an infant
committed to the care of a fit person by an order in force under
the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) [1968], the
last mentioned order shall cease to have effect.

(5) Where an adoption order is made in respect of an infant in
respect of whom a parental rights order is in force under [section
104] of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) [1968]
(which empowers a welfare authority to apply for a parental rights
order) the last mentioned order shall cease to have effect.

(6) Any reference in this section to an adoption order includes a
reference to

(a)an order authorising an adoption made under the Adoption Act 1958
or any enactment of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the
time being in force; and

(b)an order authorising an adoption made after the commencement of
this Act in the Isle of Man or in any of the Channel Islands.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 18
1958 c.5 (7 & 8 Eliz.2)

18.(1) The provisions of this section and section 19 shall apply to
the devolution of any property on the intestacy of a person who
dies after the date of the commencement of this Act, or any
disposition of property made, whether by instrument inter vivos or
by will (including codicil), after that date.

(2) Where, at any time after the making of an adoption order, the
adopter or the adopted person or any other person dies intestate in
respect of any property (other than property which, under a
disposition made before the date of the adoption order, is limited
in tail or is subject to an entailed interest), that property shall
devolve in all respects as if the adopted person were the child of
the adopter born in lawful wedlock and were not the child of any
other person.

(3) In any disposition of property made, whether by instrument inter
vivos or by will (including codicil) after the date of an adoption
order

(a)any reference (whether express or implied) to the child or
children of the adopter shall, unless the contrary intention appears,
be construed as, or as including, a reference to the adopted
person;

(b)any reference (whether express or implied) to the child or
children of the adopted person's natural parents or either of them
shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as not
being, or as not including, a reference to the adopted person; and

(c)any reference (whether express or implied) to a person related to
the adopted person in any degree shall, unless the contrary
intention appears, be construed as a reference to the person who
would be related to him in that degree if he were the child of
the adopter born in lawful wedlock and were not the child of any
other person.

(4) Where under any disposition any property or any interest in
such property is limited (whether subject to any preceding limitation
or charge or not) in such a way that it would, apart from this
section, devolve (as nearly as the law permits) along with a
dignity or title of honour, then, whether or not the disposition
contains an express reference to the dignity or title of honour,
and whether or not the property or some interest in the property
may in some event become severed therefrom, nothing in this section
shall operate to sever the property or any interest therein from
the dignity, but the property or interest shall devolve in all
respects as if this section had not been enacted.

(5) The references in this section to an adoption order include
references to

(a)an order authorising an adoption made under the Adoption of
Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950, or under any enactment repealed
by that Act; and

(b)an order authorising an adoption made (whether before or after
the commencement of this Act) anywhere in Great Britain, the Isle
of Man or any of the Channel Islands.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 19
1950 c.6

19.(1) For the purposes of the application of the statutes for the
time being in force with respect to the devolution of any property
on intestacy in accordance with the provisions of section 18, and
for the purposes of the construction of any such disposition as is
mentioned in that section, an adopted person shall be deemed to be
related to any other person being the child or adopted child of
the adopter or (in the case of a joint adoption) of either of the
adopters

(a)where he or she was adopted by two spouses jointly, and that
other person is the child or adopted child of both of them, as
brother or sister of the whole blood;

(b)in any other case, as brother or sister of the half-blood.

(2) For the purposes of section 18(3), a disposition made by will
or codicil shall be treated as made on the date of the death of
the testator.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in section 18, trustees or personal
representatives may convey or distribute any property to or among
the persons entitled thereto without having ascertained that no
adoption order has been made by virtue of which any person is or
may be entitled to any interest therein, and shall not be liable
to any such person of whose claim they have not had notice at the
time of the conveyance or distribution.

(4) Nothing in subsection (3) shall prejudice the right of any such
person to follow the property, or any property representing it, into
the hands of any person, other than a purchaser, who may have
received it.

(5) Where an adoption order is made in respect of a person who
has been previously adopted, the previous adoption shall be
disregarded for the purposes of section 18 in relation to the
devolution of any property on the death of a person dying intestate
after the date of the subsequent adoption order and in relation to
any disposition of property made, or taking effect on the death of
a person dying, after that date.

(6) The references in this section to an adoption order shall be
construed in accordance with section 18(5).

(7) For the purposes of this section and section 18

(a)"convey" includes the making of any assurance of property or of
any estate or interest therein by any instrument whatsoever except a
will and "conveyance" shall be construed accordingly;

(b)"disposition" includes both a conveyance and a devise, bequest or
appointment of property contained in a will; and

(c)"property" includes property of every description whether movable
or immovable.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 20
Provisions supplementary to s.18.

20.(1) Any provision (however expressed) in any enactment passed
before the commencement of this Act under which a person adopted in
pursuance of an adoption order is for any purpose treated as the
child of the adopter, or any other relationship is deduced by
reference to such an order, shall have effect as respects anything
done or any event occurring after the commencement of this Act

(a)if it extends only to adoptions in pursuance of orders made in
the United Kingdom, as extending also to adoptions in pursuance of
orders made, whether before or after the commencement of this Act,
in the Isle of Man or in any of the Channel Islands;

(b)if it extends only to adoptions in pursuance of orders made in
Northern Ireland, as extending also to adoptions in pursuance of
orders made, whether before or after the commencement of this Act,
elsewhere in the United Kingdom or in the Isle of Man or in any
of the Channel Islands.

(2) In this section "enactment" has the meaning assigned to it by
section 1(b) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 21
1954 c.33

21. It is hereby declared that any reference in [Article 2(4) and
(5) of the Industrial Assurance (Northern Ireland) Order 1979]
(transfer of rights under certain insurance policies) to an adoption
order includes a reference to an order authorising an adoption made
(whether before or after the commencement of this Act) anywhere in
Great Britain, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 22
1979 NI 13

22. Where a person adopted in pursuance of an order made, whether
before or after the commencement of this Act, in Great Britain, the
Isle of Man or in any of the Channel Islands has subsequently
become a legitimated person, and the order is then revoked, the
revocation shall not affect the operation of sections 18 and 19 in
relation to an intestacy which occurred, or a disposition which was
made, before the revocation.

Effects of revocation of certain adoption orders.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 23

23.(1) The Registrar General for Northern Ireland (in this Part
referred to as "the Registrar General" shall

(a)maintain at the General Register Office a register to be called
the Adopted Children Register, in which shall be made such entries
as may be directed to be made therein by adoption orders, but no
other entries;

(b)cause an index of the Adopted Children Register to be made and
kept in the General Register Office; and

(c)keep such other registers and books, and make such entries
therein, as may be necessary to record and make traceable the
connection between any entry in the Register of Births which has
been marked "Adopted" pursuant to the next following section or any
enactment at the time in force, and any corresponding entry in the
Adopted Children Register.

(2) Every person shall be entitled to search the index mentioned in
subsection (1)(b) and to have a certified copy of any entry in the
Adopted Children Register in all respects upon and subject to the
same terms, conditions and regulations as to payment of fees and
otherwise as are applicable in Northern Ireland under the Births and
Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 in respect of
searches in other indexes kept in the General Register Office and
in respect of the supply from such Office of certified copies of
entries in the ... Registers of Births and Deaths.

(3) The registers and books kept under subsection (1)(c) shall not
be, nor shall any index thereof be, open to public inspection or
search, and the Registrar General shall not furnish any person with
any information contained in or with any copy or extract from any
such registers or books except under an order of any of the
following courts, that is to say

(a)the High Court;

(b)the court by which an adoption order was made in respect of the
person to whom the information, copy or extract relates; and

(c)any county court as may be prescribed.

(4) A certified copy of any entry in the Adopted Children Register,
if purporting to be sealed or stamped with the seal of the General
Register Office, shall

(a)without any further or other proof of that entry, be received as
evidence of the adoption to which it relates; and

(b)where the entry contains a record of the date of the birth or
the country or the district of the Superintendent Registrar and
Registrar of Births and Deaths of the birth of the adopted person,
shall also be received as aforesaid as evidence of that date or
country or district of that Superintendent Registrar or Registrar in
all respects as if the copy were a certified copy of an entry in
the Register of Births.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 24
1967 c.25

24.(1) Every adoption order shall contain a direction to the
Registrar General to make in the Adopted Children Register an entry
in the form set out in Schedule 1, and (subject to subsection (2))
shall specify the particulars to be entered under the headings in
columns 2 to 6 of that Schedule.

(2) For the purposes of compliance with the requirements of
subsection (1)

(a)where the precise date of the infant's birth is not proved to
the satisfaction of the court, the court shall determine the
probable date of his birth and the date so determined shall be
specified in the order as the date of his birth;

(b)where the country of birth of the infant is not proved to the
satisfaction of the court, then, if it appears probable that the
infant was born within the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or
the Isle of Man, he shall be treated as having been born in
Northern Ireland, and in any other case the particulars of the
country of birth may be omitted from the order and from the entry
in the Adopted Children Register; and

(c)the names to be specified in the order as the name and surname
of the infant shall be the name or names and surname stated in
that behalf in the application for the adoption order, or, if no
name or surname is so stated, the original name or names of the
infant and the surname of the applicant.

(3) The particulars to be entered in the Adopted Children Register
under the heading in column 2 of Schedule 1 shall include

(a)in the case of an infant born in Northern Ireland, the district
of the ... Registrar of Births and Deaths in which the birth took
place; and

(b)where the infant was born in Northern Ireland but the district
of the ... Registrar of Births and Deaths in which the birth took
place is not proved to the satisfaction of the court, or where the
infant is treated by virtue of subsection (2)(b) as born in
Northern Ireland, he shall be treated for the purposes of this
subsection as born in the district of the ... Registrar of Births
and Deaths in which the court sits.

(4) Where upon any application for an adoption order in respect of
an infant born in Northern Ireland (not being an infant who has
previously been the subject of an adoption order under this Act or
any enactment at the time in force) there is proved to the
satisfaction of the court the identity of the infant with a child
to whom an entry in the Register of Births relates, any adoption
order made in pursuance of the application shall contain a direction
to the Registrar General to cause the entry in the Register of
Births to be marked with the word "Adopted".

(5) Where an adoption order is made in respect of an infant who
has previously been the subject of an adoption order made under
this Act or any enactment at the time in force, the order shall
contain a direction to the Registrar General to cause the previous
entry in the Adopted Children Register to be marked with the word
"Re-adopted".

(6) The prescribed officer of the court shall cause every adoption
order to be communicated in the prescribed manner to the Registrar
General, and upon receipt of the communication the Registrar General
shall cause compliance to be made with the directions contained in
the order.

(7) Where an adoption order is communicated to the Registrar General
in accordance with subsection (6), and the country of birth of the
infant or the country in which the infant was previously adopted is
shown therein as being England or Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man
or any of the Channel Islands, the Registrar General shall cause a
notification giving particulars of the entry to be marked and a
statement that an adoption order has been granted in respect of the
child, to be transmitted to the authority maintaining the Register
of Births or the Adopted Children Register or any corresponding
register of adoptions, as the case may be, in such country.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 25
Registration of adoption orders.

25.(1) The court by which an adoption order has been made may, on
the application of the adopter or of the adopted person, amend the
order by the correction of any error in the particulars contained
therein, and may

(a)if satisfied on the application of the adopter or of the adopted
person that within one year beginning with the date of the order
any new name or names has or have been given to the adopted
person (whether in baptism or otherwise), or taken by him, either
in lieu of or in addition to a name or names specified in the
particulars required to be entered in the Adopted Children Register
in pursuance of the order, amend the order by substituting or
adding that name or names in those particulars, as the case may
require;

(b)if satisfied on the application of any person concerned that a
direction for the marking of an entry in the Register of Births or
the Adopted Children Register included in the order in pursuance of
section 24(4) or (5) was wrongly so included, revoke that direction.

(2) Where an adoption order is amended or a direction revoked under
subsection (1), the prescribed officer of the court shall cause the
amendment to be communicated in the prescribed manner to the
Registrar General who shall as the case may require,

(a)cause the entry in the Adopted Children Register to be amended
accordingly; or

(b)cause the marking of the entry in the Register of Births or the
Adopted Children Register to be cancelled.

(3) Where an adoption order is quashed or an appeal against an
adoption order is allowed by any court the court shall give
direction to the Registrar General to cancel any entry in the
Adopted Children Register and any marking of an entry in that
Register or the Register of Births which was effected in pursuance
of the order.

(4) Where an adoption order has been amended, any certified copy of
the relevant entry in the Adopted Children Register which may be
issued pursuant to section 23(2) shall be a copy of the entry as
amended, without the reproduction of any note or marking relating to
the amendment or of any matter cancelled pursuant thereto; and a
copy or extract of an entry in any register, being an entry the
marking of which has been cancelled, shall be deemed to be an
accurate copy if and only if both the marking and the cancellation
are ommited therefrom.

(5) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 3 of the
Legitimacy Act (Northern Ireland) 1961 (which provides for
applications for the revocation of adoption orders and the
cancellation of entries relating to that order in any registers upon
the legitimation of any person) where, after an entry in the
Register of Births has been marked with the word "Adopted", the
birth is re-registered under section 30 of the Births and Deaths
Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 (which provides for the
re-registration of the birth of legitimated persons) the entry made
on the re-registration shall be marked in the like manner.

(6) Where the Registrar General has, in accordance with section
24(7), caused a notification of any particulars to be transmitted to
any authority maintaining a Register of Births or an Adopted
Children Register or any corresponding register of adoptions in
England and Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel
Islands, and any of those particulars are amended, revoked or
cancelled under this section, the Registrar General shall cause a
notification of such amendment, revocation or cancellation to be
transmitted to that authority.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 26
1967 c.25

26.(1) Where the Registrar General is notified by the authority
maintaining a register of adoptions in England and Wales, Scotland,
the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands that an order has
been made in that country authorising the adoption of an infant to
whom an entry in the Register of Births or the Adopted Children
Register relates, he shall cause the entry to be marked with the
word "Adopted" or "Re-adopted" as the case may require, followed by
the name, in brackets of the country in which the order was made.

(2) Where, after an entry has been so marked, the Registrar General
is notified as aforesaid that the order has been quashed, that an
appeal against the order has been allowed or that the order has
been revoked, he shall cause the marking to be cancelled; and a
copy or extract of an entry in any register, being an entry the
marking of which is cancelled under this subsection, shall be deemed
to be an accurate copy if and only if both the marking and the
cancellation are omitted therefrom.

(3) The preceding provisions of this section shall apply in relation
to orders corresponding to orders under section 38 as they apply in
relation to orders authorising the adoption of an infant; but any
marking of an entry required by virtue of this subsection shall
consist of the word "Provisionally" followed by the words mentioned
in subsection (1).

(4) Without prejudice to subsections (2) and (3) where, after an
entry in the Register of Births has been marked in accordance with
this section the birth is re-registered under section 30 of the
Births and Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 (which
provides for the re-registration of the births of legitimated
persons), the entry made on the re-registration shall be marked in
the like manner.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 27
1967 c.25

27.(1) Any document which under section 20(2) or section 22(2) of
the Adoption Act 1958 or any corresponding enactment of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom for the time being in force is
receivable as evidence of any matter in any part of Great Britain
shall also be so receivable in Northern Ireland.

Subs.(2) rep. by 1977 NI 18 art.8(2) sch.2

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 28
1958 c.5 (7 & 8 Eliz.2)

28. Regulations made under the Births and Deaths Registration Act
(Northern Ireland) 1967 may make provision as to the duties to be
performed by ... Registrars of Births and Deaths in the execution
of this Part.

Provision for regulations.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 29

29.(1) No body of persons, other than [the Ministry of Home
Affairs], shall make any arrangements for the adoption of an infant
unless that body is a registered adoption society.

(2) If any person takes any part in the management or control of
a body of persons which exists wholly or in part for the purpose
of making arrangements for the adoption of infants, and which is
not a registered adoption society or [the Ministry of Home Affairs],
he shall, on summary conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding two
hundred pounds, or to both.

(3) In any proceedings under this section, proof of things done or
of words written, spoken, or published (whether or not in the
presence of any party to the proceedings) by any person taking part
in the management or control of the body of persons, or in making
arrangements for the adoption of infants on behalf of the body,
shall be admissible as evidence of the purpose for which that body
exists.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 30
Restriction on making arrangements for adoptions.

30.(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part, where
application is made in the prescribed manner by or on behalf of an
adoption society to the Ministry of Home Affairs (in this Act
referred to as "the Ministry"), and there is furnished therewith the
prescribed information relating to the activities of the society, the
Ministry may, on payment by the society of such fee as may be
prescribed, register the Society under this Part.

(2) The Ministry shall not register an adoption society under this
Part unless the Ministry is satisfied, by such evidence as it may
reasonably require, that the society is a charitable association.

(3) The Ministry may refuse to register an adoption society under
this Part, if it appears to the Ministry

(a)that any person employed or proposed to be employed by the
society for the purpose of making any arrangements for the adoption
of infants on behalf of the society is not a fit and proper
person to be so employed; or

(b)that the number of competent persons employed or proposed to be
employed by the society for the purpose aforesaid is, in the
opinion of the Ministry, insufficient having regard to the extent of
the activities of the society in connection with that purpose; or

(c)that any person taking part in the management or control of the
society or any member of the society has been convicted of an
offence under this Part or Part II of the Adoption of Children Act
(Northern Ireland) 1950 or of a breach of any regulations made
under this Part of this Act or under Part II of the said Act of
1950; or

(d)that in any other respect the society is not properly managed.

(4) The Ministry may at any time cancel the registration of an
adoption society

(a)on any ground which would entitle the Ministry to refuse an
application for the registration of the society; or

(b)on the ground that the society is no longer a charitable
association.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 31
1950 c.6

31.(1) Where the Ministry proposes to refuse an application for
registration made to it by or on behalf of an adoption society or
to cancel the registration of an adoption society

(a)the Ministry shall give to the society not less than one month's
notice in writing of its intention so to do; and

(b)every such notice shall state the grounds on which the Ministry
intends to refuse the application or to cancel the registration, as
the case may be, and shall contain an intimation that, if within
one month after the receipt of the notice, the society informs the
Ministry in writing that it desires so to do, the Ministry shall,
before refusing the application or cancelling the registration, as
the case may be, give to the society an opportunity of causing
representations to be made to the Ministry by or on behalf of the
society.

(2) If the Ministry, after giving to the society an opportunity of
causing such representations as aforesaid to be made, decides to
refuse the application for registration or to cancel the
registration, as the case may be, it shall give to the society
notice in writing of its decision.

(3) Any adoption society aggrieved by the refusal of an application
for registration, or by the cancellation of its registration, by the
Ministry, may appeal to an Appeal Tribunal constituted under [section
128] of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland)
[1968], and that Tribunal shall have power to determine any such
appeal; and any such determination shall be final and conclusive.

(4) Where the registration of an adoption society is cancelled by
the Ministry, the adoption society shall, for the purposes of this
Act, be deemed to be registered under this Act during the period
within which an appeal against the cancellation may be brought under
this section, and, if such an appeal is brought, until the
determination or abandonment of the appeal.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 32
1968 c.34

32.(1) The Ministry may make regulations

(a)for regulating the conduct of negotiations entered into by or on
behalf of registered adoption societies with persons having the care
and possession of infants who are desirous of causing the infants
to be adopted, and in particular, for securing

(i)that, where the parent or guardian of an infant proposes to
place the infant at the disposition of the society with a view to
the infant being adopted, he shall be furnished with a memorandum
in the prescribed form explaining, in ordinary language, the effect,
in relation to his rights as a parent or guardian, of the making
of an adoption order in respect of the infant, and calling
attention to the provisions of this Act, or of any rules made
thereunder, relating to the consent of a parent or guardian to the
making of such an order, and to the provisions of this Act
relating to the sending or taking of infants abroad; and

(ii)that, before so placing the infant at the disposition of the
society, the parent or guardian shall sign a document in the
prescribed form certifying that he has read and understood the said
memorandum;

(b)for requiring that the case of every infant proposed to be
delivered by or on behalf of a registered adoption society into the
care and possession of an adopter shall be considered by a
committee (to be called a "case committee") appointed by the society
for the purpose, and consisting of not less than three persons;

(c)for prescribing, in respect of every such infant as aforesaid,
the inquiries which must be made and the reports which must be
obtained by the society in relation to the infant and the adopter
for the purpose of ensuring, so far as may be, the suitability of
the infant and the adopter respectively, and, in particular, for
requiring that a report on the health of the infant signed by a
fully registered medical practitioner must be obtained by the
society;

(d)for securing that no such infant shall be delivered into the
care and possession of an adopter by or on behalf of the society
until the adopter had been interviewed by the case committee or by
some person on their behalf, until a representative of the committee
has inspected any premises in Northern Ireland in which the adopter
intends that the infant should reside permanently, and until the
committee have considered the prescribed reports;

(e)for requiring a registered adoption society to furnish to the
Ministry the prescribed accounts and the prescribed information
relating to the activities of the society;

(f)for making provision for the care and supervision of infants who
have been placed by their parents or guardians at the disposition
of adoption societies;

(g)for prescribing anything which by this Part is required or
authorised to be prescribed.

(2) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the
provisions of a regulation made under this section shall be liable
on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding for a first offence
twenty-five pounds, and, in the case of a second or subsequent
conviction, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(3) All regulations made by the Ministry under any of the
provisions of this Act shall be subject to negative resolution.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 33
Regulations.

33.(1) The Ministry may at any time give notice in writing to any
registered adoption society which has been registered by the Ministry
under this Part, or to any officer of such a society, requiring
that society or officer to produce to the Ministry or an officer
of the Ministry such books, accounts and other documents of the
society relating to the adoption of infants, as the Ministry may
consider necessary for the exercise of the powers conferred on it
by section 30(4); and any such notice may contain a requirement
that any information to be furnished in accordance with the notice
shall be verified by statutory declaration.

(2) Any person who fails to comply with the requirements of a
notice under this section shall be liable, on summary conviction, to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine
not exceeding fifty pounds, or to both.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 34
Inspection of books, etc., of registered adoption societies.

34.(1) It shall not be lawful for a registered adoption society to
place any infant for the adoption of whom arrangements are made by
the society, in the care and possession of a person who proposes
to adopt him if an adoption order in respect of the infant could
not lawfully be made in favour of that person.

(2) Where an application for an adoption order in respect of the
infant is refused by the court and an interim order is not made,
the adopter shall within seven days of the date on which the
application is so refused cause the infant to be returned to the
society, and the society shall receive the infant accordingly.

(3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section shall
be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds,
or to both, and the court by which the offender is convicted may
order any infant in respect of whom the offence is committed to be
returned to his parents or guardian or to the registered adoption
society, or to be placed in the care of [the Ministry of Home
Affairs].

(4) Where by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this section an
infant is required to be returned by an adopter to, and received
by, an adoption society, it shall be sufficient compliance with that
requirement if the infant is delivered by the adopter to and
received by a suitable person nominated for the purpose by the
society.

Provisions relating to arrangements made by registered adoption
societies.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 35

35.(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2), no person
whatsoever shall give or agree to give or, whether directly or
indirectly, to receive or agree to receive, any payment or reward
whatsoever in consideration of or in connection with the adoption of
any infant.

(2) The following payments shall not be unlawful by virtue of the
preceding subsection, that is to say:

(a)payments made or received by [the Ministry of Home Affairs] in
connection with the adoption of an infant being payments in respect
of expenses reasonably incurred by [the Ministry] in connection with
the adoption of the infant;

(b)payments the receipt or making of which is sanctioned by the
court to which an application is made for an adoption order in
respect of an infant, or pursuant to any agreement, whether entered
into before or after the making of the application, with respect to
the receipt or making of any such payments as may be so
sanctioned;

(c)payments made by or on behalf of a registered adoption society
in respect of the maintenance of an infant who has been placed at
the disposition of the society;

(d)payments made to a registered adoption society by the parent or
guardian of an infant or by any other person in respect of the
maintenance of the infant so long as the infant is not in the
care and possession of an adopter, being payments made weekly and
at a rate not exceeding such rate as may be prescribed.

(3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1)
shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding two hundred
pounds, or to both and the court may order the infant in respect
of whom the offence was committed to be removed to a place of
safety until he can be restored to his parents or guardian or
until other arrangements can be made for him.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 36
Restriction on payments in connection with adoptions.

36.(1) It shall not be lawful for any advertisement to be published
indicating that

(a)the parent or guardian of an infant desires to cause the infant
to be adopted; or

(b)a person desires to adopt an infant; or

(c)any person (not being a registered adoption society or a welfare
authority) is willing to make arrangements for the adoption of an
infant.

(2) Any person who causes to be published, or knowingly publishes,
an advertisement in contravention of the provisions of this section
shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding
fifty pounds.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 37
Restriction on advertisements.

37.(1) Except under the authority of an order under section 38, no
person shall take or send an infant who is a British subject out
of Northern Ireland to any place outside the British Islands with a
view to the adoption of the infant (whether in law or in fact) by
any person not being a parent or guardian or a relative of the
infant.

(2) Any person who takes or sends an infant out of Northern
Ireland to any place in contravention of subsection (1), or makes
or takes part in any arrangements for transferring the care and
possession of an infant to any person for that purpose, shall be
liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds
or to both.

(3) In any proceedings under this section, a report by a British
consular officer or a deposition made before a British consular
officer and authenticated under the signature of that officer shall,
upon proof that the officer or the deponent cannot be found in the
United Kingdom, be admissible as evidence of the matters stated
therein, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature or
official capacity of the person who appears to have signed any such
report or deposition.

(4) In this section "the British Islands" means the United Kingdom,
the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 38
Restriction on removal of infants for adoption abroad.

38.(1) If the court is satisfied, upon an application being made by
a person who is not domiciled in Northern Ireland, that the
applicant intends to adopt an infant under the law of or within
the country in which he is domiciled, and for that purpose desires
to remove the infant from Northern Ireland either immediately or
after an interval, the court may, subject to the provisions of this
section, make an order (in this section referred to as a
provisional adoption order) authorising the applicant to remove the
infant for the purpose aforesaid, and giving to the applicant the
custody of the infant pending his adoption as aforesaid.

(2) An application for a provisional adoption order may be made in
the prescribed manner to the High Court or, at the option of the
applicant, any county court within the jurisdiction of which either
the applicant or the infant resides at the date of that application
or, if the applicant is not ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland,
any county court in the jurisdiction of which the applicant lives
at the date of that application.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), a provisional adoption order may be
made in any case where, apart from the domicile of the applicant,
an adoption order could be made in respect of the infant under
Part I, but shall not be made in any other case.

(4) In relation to a provisional adoption order section 3 shall
have effect as if for the word "three" where it occurs in
subsection (1) there were substituted the word "six".

(5) Subject to the provisions of this section, the provisions of
this Act, other than this section and section 18 and section 19,
shall apply in relation to a provisional adoption order as they
apply in relation to an adoption order, and references in those
provisions to adoption, to an adoption order, to an application or
applicant for such an order and to an adopter or a person adopted
or authorised to be adopted under such an order shall be construed
accordingly.

(6) Any provision in this Act, except section 18 and section 19,
under which a person adopted in pursuance of an order authorising
adoption is for any purpose treated as the child of the adopter,
or any other relationship is deduced by reference to such an order,
which by virtue of subsection (5) applies in relation to orders
under this section, shall,

(a)as respects anything done after the commencement of this Act,
apply also in relation to orders similar to orders under this
section, made (whether before or after the commencement of this Act)
in Great Britain, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands,
and any such provision of this Act shall be construed accordingly;
and

(b)any such similar order made after the commencement of this Act
shall also have the same effect as an adoption order for the
purposes of [Article 2(5) of the Industrial Assurance (Northern
Ireland) Order 1979] and section 17 of this Act.

(7) Any entry in the Register of Births or the Adopted Children
Register which is required to be marked in consequence of the
making of a provisional adoption order shall, in lieu of being
marked with the word "Adopted" or "Re-adopted" be marked with the
words "Provisionally adopted" or "Provisionally re-adopted", as the
case may require.

S.39 rep. by 1972 NI 14 art.109(3) sch.18

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 40
1979 NI 13

40. There shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament

(a)any increase attributable to any provision of this Act in any
sums which fall to be so defrayed under the provisions of any
other enactment; and

(b)any other expenses incurred by the Ministry under this Act.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 41
General financial provisions.

41.(1) The Ministry may from time to time appoint or designate
officers or other persons to inspect and report to the Ministry
concerning any institution, premises or other place whatsoever,
wherein any infant is for the time being kept in respect of whom

(a)a notice of intention to adopt has been given under section 3
and an adoption order has not been made; or

(b)an interim order under section 8 is in force.

(2) An officer or person so appointed or designated by the Ministry
(on production if so required of his authority) may

(a)enter any institution, premises or place which by virtue of
subsection (1) he is authorised or required to inspect; and

(b)require the person having for the time being control or
management of any place to be inspected to furnish such information
as the officer or person so appointed or designated may reasonably
require.

(3) The Ministry may pay to any officer or other person appointed
or designated as aforesaid such sum by way of salary or fees and
such sum for out-of-pocket expenses as with the approval of the
Ministry of Finance may be determined by the Ministry.

S.42 rep. by 1972 NI 14 art.109(3) sch.18

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 43
Inspection.

43. For the purposes of this Act the Ministry may cause local or
other inquiries to be held or investigations to be made.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 44
Inquiries.

44. Any person who, being or having been

(a)a member of, or of a committee of, [the Ministry of Home
Affairs] or an adoption society; or

(b)employed by, or by a committee of, [the Ministry of Home
Affairs] or an adoption society;

Prohibition of wrongful disclosure of information.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 45

45.(1) Without prejudice to section 21 of the Interpretation Act
(Northern Ireland) 1954

(a)rules of court may provide

(i)for the hearing otherwise than in open court of any application
or proceedings to which the rules relate;

(ii)for the transfer to the county court of any application which
the court, having regard to any special circumstances, thinks proper
to be dealt with by the county court;

(b)county court rules may provide

(i)for the hearing otherwise than in open court of any applications
and proceedings to which the rules relate;

(ii)for the refusal of any application which the court, having
regard to any special circumstances, thinks proper to be dealt with
by the High Court;

<(iii)for the transfer to the Lord Chief Justice of any application made under section 38 which the court, having regard to any special circumstances, thinks proper to be dealt with by the Lord Chief Justice.

(2) The Lord Chief Justice may make rules with respect to any
matter (not being a matter to be prescribed by Adoption Rules or
by regulations) with respect to which it appears to him to be
necessary or expedient to make rules for giving due effect to the
provisions of this Act.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 46
1954 c.33

46.(1) In this Act

"adoption order" has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(1);

"Adoption Rules" means rules of court and county court rules;

"adoption society" means a body of persons which performs, either as
the whole or as part of its activities, the function of making
arrangements for the adoption of infants;

"body of persons" means any body of persons, corporate or
unincorporate;

"charitable association" means any body of persons not operating for
gain, which exists for the purpose of promoting a charitable,
benevolent or philanthropic object, whether or not the object is
charitable within the meaning of any rule of law;

"compulsory school age" has the meaning assigned to it by section
116(1) of the Education Act (Northern Ireland) 1947;

"county court rules" has the meaning assigned to it by section
21(5) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954;

"child protection visitor" means any person [authorised by [the
Ministry of Home Affairs] to visit children] for the purposes of
[section 17] of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern
Ireland) [1968] ...;

"the court" means any court having jurisdiction to make orders under
this Act;

"father" in relation to an illegitimate infant means the natural
father;

"guardian" in relation to an infant, means a person appointed by
deed or will in accordance with the provisions of the Guardianship
of Infants Act 1886, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, to
be his guardian;

"infant" means a person under the age of [eighteen] years who has
never been married;

"interim order" means an order made under section 8;

"place of safety" has the same meaning as in the Children and
Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) [1968];

"prescribed" in sections 30, 32 and 35 means prescribed by
regulations made by the Ministry, and elsewhere means prescribed by
Adoption Rules or other rules made under section 45(2) as the case
may be;

"registered adoption society" means an adoption society registered
under Part V;

"relative" in relation to an infant, means a grandparent, brother,
sister, uncle or aunt, whether of the full blood, of the half-blood
or by affinity, and includes

(a)where an order authorising an adoption has been made in respect
of the infant or any other person under this Act or the Adoption
of Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 or any enactment repealed by
that Act or has been made anywhere in Great Britain, the Isle of
Man or any of the Channel Islands, any person who would be a
relative of the infant within the meaning of this definition if the
adopted child were the child of the adopter born in lawful wedlock;

(b)where the infant is illegitimate, the father of the infant and
any person who would be a relative of the infant within the
meaning of this definition if the infant were the legitimate child
of its mother and father;

"rules of court" has the meaning assigned to it by section 21(5)
of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be deemed to
make arrangements for the adoption of an infant or to take part in
arrangements for the transfer of a child to the care or possession
of another person, if (as the case may be)

(a)he enters into or makes any agreement or arrangement for, or for
facilitating, the adoption of the infant by any other person,
whether the adoption is effected, or is intended to be effected, in
pursuance of an adoption order or otherwise; or

(b)he enters into or makes any agreement or arrangement for, or
facilitates, the transfer of the child to the care or possession of
that other person;

1954 c.33

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 47

47.Subs.(1) repeals with saving 1950 c.6 (NI)

(2) This Act has effect subject to the transitional provisions set
out in Schedule 2.

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 48
Repeal and transitional provisions.

48.Commencement

ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 49
Commencement.

49. This Act may be cited as the Adoption Act (Northern Ireland)
1967.

1. Section 17(3) shall apply in relation to an adoption order made
under the Adoption of Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 or under
the Adoption Act 1950 as it applies to an adoption order within
the meaning of this Act.

2.(1) In relation to the devolution of any property on the
intestacy of a person dying before the date of the commencement of
this Act, or to any disposition made before that date, sections 9
and 10 of the Adoption of Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950
shall continue to apply as if this Act had not been passed.

(2) Section 19(2) shall not apply in relation to a disposition made
by will or codicil executed before the commencement of this Act
unless the will or codicil is confirmed by codicil executed after
the commencement of this Act, and any will or codicil made before
the commencement of this Act and not confirmed by codicil executed
after the commencement of this Act shall, for the purposes of
section 18(1) and section 19(2), be treated as a disposition made
before the commencement of this Act and accordingly section 9 and
section 10 of the Adoption of Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950
shall continue to apply in relation thereto as if this Act had not
been passed.

3. Any register kept under any provision of the Adoption of
Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950, or any enactment repealed by
that Act, and any index to such a register, shall be deemed to be
part of the register or index kept under the corresponding provision
of this Act.

4.(1) Section 25(1) and (2) shall apply in relation to an adoption
order made under the Adoption of Children Act (Northern Ireland)
1950, or any enactment repealed by that Act, as they apply in
relation to an adoption order made under this Act, but as if in
paragraph (b) of the said subsection (1) there were substituted, for
any reference to a provision of this Act, a reference to the
corresponding provision of the said Act of 1950.

(2) The power of the court under section 25(1) to amend an order
to which that subsection applies by virtue of the foregoing
sub-paragraph includes power to make, on the application of the
adopter or of the adopted person, any such amendment of the
particulars contained in the order as appears to be required to
bring the order into the form in which it would have been if
section 24 had applied to the order, subject to the modification
that, where the application relates to an order in which the
surname of the adopted person is not specified, the name which was
his surname one year after the date of the order may be added in
the said particulars instead of the adopter's (if different),
notwithstanding anything in section 24(2).

5. The provisions of this Act have effect in relation to an
adoption society registered under Part II of the Adoption of
Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950, as if it were registered under
Part V of this Act.

6. Where at the commencement of this Act a child in respect of
whom a licence has been granted under section 23(3) of the Adoption
of Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 has not been transferred
abroad, section 37 shall not prevent that transfer.

7. Any interim order made in respect of any infant under the
Adoption of Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 and in force at
the commencement of this Act shall continue in force as if it had
been made under this Act.

8. Any proceedings pending at the commencement of this Act under
the Adoption of Children Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 may be
continued under the corresponding provision of this Act.

1950 c.26

1950 c.6