Adoption Act 2010

Interpretation.

3.— (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“accredited body” means a body of persons whose name is entered in the register of accredited bodies;

“Adopted Children Register” means the Adopted Children Register maintained by an tArd-Chláraitheoir under section 22 of the Adoption Act 1952 and continued in being by section 84 ;

“Adoption Acts” means the Adoption Acts 1952 to 1998;

“ adoption committee ” means a committee established by the Health Service Executive under section 36 ;

“adoption order” means an order for the adoption of a child made—

(a) before the establishment day, by An Bord Uchtála under the Adoption Acts, or

(b) on or after the establishment day, by the Authority under this Act;

“Article”, in relation to a numbered Article, means the Article so numbered of the Hague Convention and a reference to a subdivision of a numbered Article shall be read accordingly;

“assessment of eligibility and suitability”, in relation to a person, means an assessment of whether or not the person—

(a) comes within the classes of persons in whose favour an adoption order may by virtue of section 33 be made, and

(b) is under section 34 a suitable person to have parental rights and duties in relation to a child;

“the Authority” means the body established by section 94 ;

“bilateral agreement” means any agreement between the Government and a non-contracting state concerning intercountry adoptions which agreement, by virtue of section 73 , has the force of law;

“bilateral agreement adoption” means an adoption—

(a) effected in accordance with a bilateral agreement in a state that is a party to the agreement, and

(b) certified, in accordance with the agreement, by the competent authority of the state of the adoption as having been so effected;

“Central Authority” means—

(a) in relation to a Convention adoption, the body designated as the Central Authority by a contracting state, under Article 6 (which relates to the designation and appointment of Central Authorities) to perform the functions conferred under the Hague Convention on such authorities,

(b) in relation to a bilateral agreement adoption, a body designated as the Central Authority under that agreement to perform the functions conferred under that agreement on such authorities, and

(c) in relation to an intercountry adoption in the circumstances referred to in section 81 , a body designated as the Central Authority under an arrangement under that section to perform the functions conferred under that arrangement on such authorities,

and in each case, in relation to functions performable in the State, means the Authority;

“chief executive officer” means the person appointed to be the chief executive officer of the Authority under section 103 ;

“child” means any person who is under the age of 18 years;

“contracting state” means a state, other than any state to whose accession to the Hague Convention the State has raised an objection pursuant to Article 44 (which relates to accession to the Hague Convention), in respect of which the Hague Convention has entered into force in accordance with Article 46 and shall be read so that this Act shall have effect in relation to—

(a) if a contracting state has declared under Article 45 (which makes special provision for states with 2 or more territorial units) that the Hague Convention shall extend to one or more than one territorial unit within that state, that unit or those units, and

(b) each other contracting state;

“Convention adoption” means an intercountry adoption effected in accordance with the Hague Convention in a contracting state and for which a certificate under paragraph (1) of Article 23 (which relates to recognition of adoptions certified by the competent authority of the state of adoption) has been provided;

“ declaration of eligibility and suitability ” means a declaration issued by the Authority under section 40 ;

“domestic adoption” means the adoption of a child who was habitually resident in the State before his or her adoption by a person or persons habitually resident in the State;

“establishment day” means the establishment day appointed under section 6 ;

“financial year”, in relation to the Authority, means a period of 12 months ending on 31 December in any year and, in the case of the first financial year of the Authority, means the period commencing on the establishment day and ending on 31 December in the year in which the establishment day falls;

“guardian”, in relation to a child, means a person who—

(a) is a guardian of the child pursuant to the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 , or

(b) is appointed to be a guardian of the child by—

(i) deed or will, or

(ii) order of a court in the State,

and has not been removed from office;

“Hague Convention” means the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption, 1993, the text of which, subject to subsection (3), is set out for convenience of reference in Schedule 2 ;

“interim order” means an order under section 44 ;

“intercountry adoption” means the adoption of a child habitually resident in a state (the “state of origin”), whether a contracting state or non-contracting state, who has been, is being or is to be transferred into another state (the “receiving state”)—

(a) after the child’s adoption in the state of origin by a person or persons habitually resident in the receiving state, or

(b) for the purposes of an adoption, in either the receiving state or the state of origin, by a person or persons habitually resident in the receiving state;

“intercountry adoption effected outside the State” means—

(a) an adoption of a child effected outside the State at any time before the establishment day that, at that time, conformed to the definition of “foreign adoption” in section 1 of the Adoption Act 1991 ,

(b) an adoption, other than an intercountry adoption, of a child effected outside the State at any time on or after the establishment day that conforms to the definition of “foreign adoption” in section 1 of the Adoption Act 1991 as it read on 30 May 1991, or

(c) an intercountry adoption of a child effected outside the State at any time on or after the establishment day that, at that time, is in compliance with the applicable provisions of this Act and the Hague Convention;

“local authority” has the same meaning as it has in the Local Government Act 2001 ;

“Minister” means the Minister for Health and Children;

“non-contracting state” means a state other than a contracting state;

“orphan” means a child whose parents are dead;

“parent”, in relation to a child, means the mother or father or both of the child, whether or not they are married to each other;

“personal public service number” has the meaning assigned to it by section 262 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005;

“prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister by regulations under this Act;

“receiving state”, in relation to an intercountry adoption, means the state in which the prospective adopters of a child are habitually resident;

“register of accredited bodies” means the register kept under section 35 of the Adoption Act 1952 as the Adoption Societies Register and continued in being under section 126 as the register of accredited bodies;

“register of intercountry adoptions” means the register established under section 6 of the Adoption Act 1991 as the Register of Foreign Adoptions and continued in being under section 90 as the register of intercountry adoptions;

“relative”, in relation to a child, means a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt of the child, whether of the whole blood, of the half-blood or by affinity and includes the spouse of any such person, relationship to the child being traced through the mother or the father;

“state of origin”, in relation to a child, means the state in which the child is habitually resident before—

(a) his or her adoption, or

(b) his or her proposed adoption,

by a person habitually resident in another state.

(2) In this Act, references to adopters shall, where the context so requires, include references to an adopter.

(3) In Schedule 2 , in a head note to a numbered Article, the descriptor following the number—

(a) is not part of the Hague Convention, and

(b) shall be considered to have been added editorially for convenience of reference only.