inors (IAC) applies to the adoption of minors in the form of full adoption, adoptive legitimation, and “other similar institutions” when the domicile of the adopter and the habitual residence of the adoptee are in different States Parties (article 1). Such adoptions are irrevocable (article 12). A State Party may declare that the IAC also applies to “any other form of international adoption of minors” (article 2); revocation of such adoptions will be governed by the law of the adoptee’s habitual residence at the time of adoption (article 12). The IAC states that the law of the minor’s habitual residence also governs capacity, consent, and other requirements for adoption, as well as adoption procedures and formalities (article 3). The IAC protects the identity of the birth parents, with certain exceptions regarding medical data (article 7). The adoptee and the adopter (and the adopter’s family) generally have the same rights of succession as those of legitimate family members (article 11). In cases where conversion of a simple adoption into full adoption, adoptive legitimation, or similar institutions is permitted, the adoptee’s consent is required if he or she is over fourteen years of age (article 13, paragraph 2)). If an adoption is annulled, the minor’s interests are to be protected (article 14). Although the IAC terms and the laws applicable under it are to be interpreted “consistently and in favor of the validity of the adoption and the best interests of the adoptee” (article 19), a State Party’s authorities may refuse to apply those laws when they are “manifestly contrary to its public policy” (article 18).
Hague Convention on the Protection of Children in Intercountry Adoption 1993
The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993 Convention), has three stated aims: to establish safeguards to ensure that intercountry adoptions are in the best interest of the child and in accordance with the child’s fundamental rights; to establish a system of safeguards to avoid abuses such as trafficking in children; and to secure recognition in States Parties of adoptions made in accordance with the Convention (article 1). The underlying principle of the 1993 Convention is that “although it is difficult to define the best interests of the child, the child’s interests should always take priority over those of the prospective adopters,” but the application of this principle has proved problematic. The 1993 Convention asserts that authorities must ensure, taking into account the age and degree of maturity of the child, that he or she has been counseled and informed of the effects of the adoption and of his or her consent to the adoption, where such consent is required; that consideration has been given to the child’s wishes and opinions; that the child’s consent to the adoption has been given freely, in the required legal form, and in writing; and that consent has not been induced by payment or compensation of any kind (article 4(d)). Information on the child’s origin, in particular the identity of the parents as well as the medical history, should be preserved, but access by the child to that information is permitted only insofar as it is allowed by the law of the State where it is held (article 30). Personal data gathered or transmitted under the 1993 Convention’s provisions is to be used “only for the purposes for which they were gathered or transmitted,” without prejudice to article 30 (article 31).
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (1980 Convention) governs issues related to parental kidnapping or the removal of children under the age of sixteen across international borders and involving the jurisdiction of different countries’ courts. Its stated objectives are to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any contracting state and to ensure that the rights of custody and of access under the law of one contracting state are