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3 2004

Civil Registration Act 2004

PART 4

Registration of Adoptions

Definitions (Part 4).

31. —In this Part—

“Act of 1952” means the Adoption Act 1952 ;

“Act of 1991” means the Adoption Act 1991 ;

“adopted”, “adopter” and “place” have the meanings assigned to them by section 1 of the Act of 1991;

“adoption order” means an order under section 9 of the Act of 1952;

“the Board” means An Bord Uchtála;

“the Court” means the High Court;

“the register” means the register of adoptions, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

Registration of adoptions.

32. —(1) An officer of the Board authorised by it in that behalf shall enter in the register the required particulars relating to an adoption pursuant to an adoption order whether made before or after the commencement of this section but not registered in the Adopted Children Register maintained under section 22 of the Act of 1952 and shall register the adoption in such manner as an tArd-Chláraitheoir may direct.

(2) If the date of an adopted child's birth is not known, the Board shall determine the probable date of the birth and that date shall be entered in the register as the child's date of birth and, if the Board subsequently ascertains the actual date of the child's birth, the determination shall be cancelled and the actual date shall be entered in the register and the adoption order relating to the child shall be correspondingly amended.

(3) The country of birth of an adopted child shall be entered in the register if the Board, being satisfied of the identity thereof, so directs.

(4) If an adoption order is amended, the entry in the register relating to it shall be correspondingly amended.

(5) If an adoption order is set aside, the entry in the register shall be cancelled.

Registration of foreign adoptions.

33. —(1) (a) If, on application to the Board in that behalf in relation to an adoption effected outside the State, being an application made by the person who was the subject of the adoption or a person by whom the person was adopted pursuant to the adoption or any other person having an interest in the matter, the Board is satisfied that—

(i) the adoption is a foreign adoption to which section 2, 3 or 4 of the Act of 1991 applies, or

(ii) the adoption is a foreign adoption to which section 4A or 5 of that Act applies,

then, unless (in a case to which subparagraph (II) of subsection (1)(iii) of the said section 5 applies) the Board is satisfied that the relevant circumstances have so changed since the date of the declaration under that subparagraph that it would not be proper to do so, having regard to section 13 of the Act of 1952 and section 10 of the Act of 1991, an officer of the Board authorised in that behalf by the Board shall enter the required particulars relating to the adoption in the register and shall register the adoption in such manner as an tArd-Chláraitheoir may direct.

(b) If the Court so directs under section 34 , an entry shall be made in the register concerning a specified foreign adoption.

(2) A person making an application under this section shall furnish the Board with such information as it may reasonably require and the information shall be in such form (if any) as may be specified by the Board.

(3) An error in an entry in the register may be corrected by an officer of the Board authorised in that behalf by the Board and, if the Court so directs, a specified correction shall be made in the register.

(4) A document purporting to be a copy, and to be certified by an tArd-Chláraitheoir or the Board or an officer of the Board authorised in that behalf by the Board to be a true copy, of an entry in the register made pursuant to this section shall be evidence of the fact that the adoption to which it relates is a foreign adoption and is deemed by the Act of 1991 to have been effected by a valid adoption order made on the date specified in the document.

(5) A document purporting to be a copy and to be certified by an tArd-Chláraitheoir or the Board or an officer of the Board authorised in that behalf by the Board to be a true copy of an entry in the register made pursuant to this section shall, on application by a person to an tArd-Chláraitheoir or the Board in that behalf and on payment to an tArd-Chláraitheoir or the Board of the prescribed fee, be furnished to the person by an tArd-Chláraitheoir or by an officer of the Board authorised in that behalf by the Board.

(6) Section 20 of the Act of 1952 shall apply to an application under subsection (1) as it applies to an application for an adoption order with the modification that the Board shall refer any question in relation to public policy arising on such an application to the High Court for determination and with any other necessary modifications.

Directions of High Court in relation to entries in register in respect of foreign adoptions.

34. —(1) If, on application to the Court in that behalf by a person who may make an application to the Board under section 33 , the Court is satisfied that an entry should be made in the register with respect to a foreign adoption or that such an entry should be cancelled or that a correction should be made in such an entry, the Court may, by order, as appropriate, direct the Board—

(a) to procure the making of a specified entry in the register,

(b) subject to subsection (2), to procure the cancellation of the entry concerned in the register, or

(c) to procure the making of a specified correction in the register,

and the Board shall comply with the direction.

(2) The Court shall not give a direction under subsection (1)(b) by reason of the fact that an adoption has been set aside, revoked, terminated, annulled or otherwise rendered void under and in accordance with the law of the place where it was effected unless the Court is satisfied that it would be in the best interests of the person who was the subject of the adoption to do so.

(3) Where the Court gives a direction under subsection (1)(b), it may make such orders in respect of the person who was the subject of the adoption as appear to the Court to be necessary in the circumstances and in the best interests of the person, including orders relating to the guardianship, custody, maintenance and citizenship of the person, and any such order shall, notwithstanding anything in any other Act, apply and be carried out to the extent necessary to give effect to the order.

(4) If the Court refuses to give a direction under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) or gives a direction under paragraph (b) of that subsection, the adoption concerned shall be deemed not to have been effected by a valid adoption order.

(5) (a) The Court may direct that notice of an application under subsection (1) shall be given by the person making the application to such other persons (including the Attorney General, the Board and an tArd-Chláraitheoir) as it may determine and may, of its own motion or on application to it in that behalf by the person concerned or a party to the proceedings in relation to the application under subsection (1), add any person as a party to those proceedings.

  (b) The Attorney General, of his or her own motion or if so required by the Court, may, without being added as a party to proceedings in relation to an application under subsection (1), make submissions to the Court in relation to the application.

(6) Proceedings under this section shall, if the Court so determines, be heard otherwise than in public.

Privacy of adoption records.

35. —(1) No person other than an tArd-Chláraitheoir or a person authorised in that behalf by an tArd-Chláraitheoir shall be entitled to search the register or an index relating to the register which makes traceable an entry in the register of births and no information from the register or such an index shall be given to any person except by order of a court or the Board.

(2) A court shall not make an order under subsection (1) or an order for the discovery, inspection, production or copying of any book, document or record of the Board (or of any extract therefrom), or otherwise in relation to the giving or obtaining of information relating to those books, documents or records, unless it is satisfied that it is in the best interests of any child concerned to do so.