Section 6 - Meaning of 'Convention adoption' and related expressions in 1987 Order
27.Section 6provides for amendments to be made to Article 2 of the 1987 Order which sets out definitions of terms used in that Order.
28.The “Convention” is defined as meaning the 1993 Convention. A “Convention adoption” is an adoption effected outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man under the 1993 Convention and which has been certified under Article 23(1) of the Convention dealing with the recognition and effects of adoption. The latter requires that where an adoption has been certified by the competent authority of the State of the adoption as having been made in accordance with the Convention, the adoption shall be recognised under the law of the other Contracting States. The certificate is to specify when and by whom the agreements under Article 17(c) of the Convention were given.
29.Article 17(c) of the Convention falls under the general heading of the duties of Central Authorities and accredited bodies and requires the Central Authorities of both States to have agreed that the adoption may take place. Agreement will only be given by each Central Authority if it is satisfied that the requirements of the relevant Articles of the Convention for which each is responsible have been met. A “Convention adoption order” is an adoption order made in Northern Ireland as a convention adoption.