The Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987

Adopted Children Register

50.—(1) The Registrar General for Northern Ireland (“the Registrar General”) shall—

(a) maintain at the General Register Office a register to be called the Adopted Children Register, in which shall be made such entries as may be directed to be made therein by adoption orders, but no other entries;

(b) cause an index of the Adopted Children Register to be made and kept in the General Register Office; and

(c) keep such other registers and books, and make such entries therein, as may be necessary to record and make traceable the connection between any entry in the Register of Births which has been marked “Adopted” pursuant to Article 51 or any statutory provision at the time in force, and any corresponding entry in the Adopted Children Register.

(2) Every person shall be entitled to search the index mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) and to have a certified copy of any entry in the Adopted Children Register in all respects upon and subject to the same terms, conditions and regulations as to payment of fees and otherwise as are applicable under the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976(1) in respect of searches in other indexes kept in the General Register Office and in respect of the supply from that Office of certified copies of entries in the Registers of Births and Deaths.

(3) The Registers and books kept under paragraph (1)(c) shall not be, nor shall any index thereof be, open to public inspection or search, and the Registrar General shall not furnish any person with any information contained in or with any copy or extract from any such registers or books except in accordance with Article 54 or under an order of any of the following courts, that is to say—

(a) the High Court;

(b) the court by which an adoption order was made in respect of the person to whom the information, copy or extract relates; and

(c) any prescribed county court.

(1)

1976 NI 14