The Intercountry Adoption (Hague Convention) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

HSS trust decision and notification

25.—(1) The HSS trust must make a decision on the matter referred to the adoption panel under regulation 23(2) only after taking into account the recommendation of the adoption panel.

(2) No member of an adoption panel shall take part in any decision made by the HSS trust under paragraph (1).

(3) The HSS trust must notify the Central Authority of–

(a) the name and age of the child;

(b) the reasons why they consider that the child may be suitable for adoption by a person habitually resident in a Convention country outside the British Islands;

(c) the date the freeing order under Article 17(1) or 18(1) of the 1987 Order or section 18 of the 1976 Act or section 18 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1987 was made; and

(d) any other information the Central Authority may require.

(4) The Central Authority is to maintain a list of children of whom it is notified under paragraph (3) and shall make the contents of that list available for consultation by other Central Authorities within the British Islands.

(5) Where a HSS trust–

(a) places for adoption a child whose details have been notified to the Central Authority under paragraph (3), or

(b) determines that adoption by a person habitually resident in a Convention country outside the British Islands is no longer in the best interests of such a child,

it must notify the Central Authority accordingly and the Central Authority must remove the details relating to that child from the Convention list.

(6) In this regulation and regulation 26, “Convention list” means–

(a) in relation to the Central Authority, a list of children notified to the Central Authority in accordance with paragraph (3), or

(b) in relation to any other Central Authority within the British Islands, a list of children notified to that Central Authority in accordance with provisions which correspond to paragraph (3).