Section 36: Restrictions on removal
119.Section 36 provides that where an application for an adoption order has been made, notice of intention to apply to adopt has been given (as required under section 44) or the court’s leave sought to make an application, a child may only be removed in accordance with the provisions made in sections 36 to 40. None of the restrictions prevent removal in the case of the child being arrested. Where leave to apply to adopt has been granted the restrictions on removal extend for three days to allow notice of intention to be given (subsection (3)). In the case of notice of intention to adopt the restrictions on removal apply for 4 months (under section 44 there must be a minimum of 3 months between the giving of notice and an application to adopt), but a second notice given within 5 months of the first will not trigger protection. This is to prevent the giving of repeated notices of intention to adopt as a means of preventing removal of the child (subsection (2)).
120.Where a parent may remove his child in accordance with section 36, the persons with whom the child has his home must return the child to the parent at once. A person who fails to comply with this provision or removes a child in breach of section 36 is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.