Section 12 - Restriction on bringing children into the United Kingdom for adoption
41.Section 12 inserts an additional Article 58ZA into the 1987 Order. The new Article makes it a criminal offence for a person habitually resident in the British Islands to bring to the United Kingdom, for the purposes of adoption, a child who is habitually resident outside those islands unless they comply with requirements to be prescribed by Regulations. The term “British Islands” is defined as meaning the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
42.Normally, summary proceedings for an offence may only be brought within six months from the date the offence was committed. However Article 58ZA(4) provides that proceedings for an offence under Article 58A may be brought within a period of six months from the date on which sufficient evidence, in the opinion of the prosecution, came to its knowledge. However, proceedings may not be brought more than three years after the offence was committed.