Intercountry Adoption

The Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 (Commencement No 5) Order 2001 brought into force on 30 April ss9 and 14 of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999, in so far as they amend the Adoption Act 1976 (‘the 1976 Act’). Section 9 inserts a new subsection into the 1976 Act, which provides that references to adoption in Part 1 of that Act are to the adoption of children, wherever they may be habitually resident, whether effected within or outside the British Islands. Section 14 inserts a new section into the 1976 Act, which profiles that a person habitually resident in the British Islands is guilty of an offence if he brings a child who is habitually resident elsewhere into the United Kingdom for the purposes of adoption, without complying with such requirements as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State.