Civil Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 2011

Access to information in the Adopted Children Register

25.—(1) The Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (NI 22) (Adopted Children Register) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In the definition of “prescribed” in Article 2(2), after the word “Articles” in the second place where it occurs there shall be inserted “50(4) and (6),”.

(3) In Article 50, after paragraph (3) there shall be added the following paragraphs—

“(4) The Department of Finance and Personnel may by regulations make provision for any person to have access, on payment of the prescribed fee, to any information contained in the Adopted Children Register.

(5) Regulations under paragraph (4) may provide that the relevant period must have expired in relation to the information.

(6) In paragraph (5) “the relevant period” in relation to the adoption of a child means the expiration of the period of 100 years from the date of the child’s birth or such other period as may be prescribed.

(7) Regulations under paragraph (4) may provide for the Registrar General—

(a) to make arrangements with any person for the purpose of providing access to information as mentioned in that paragraph; and

(b) for that purpose to transfer information to that person subject to conditions (including conditions as to the making of payments by that person to the Registrar General).”.