UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Emma Post and Nicki Beale, NE Family Law
• at the time of placing the embryo or sperm and eggs in the mother or of her artificial insemination, the other parent is married to the child’s mother; • the other parent is a civil partner of the child’s mother at the time of birth; or • there is agreement from the child’s mother that the other parent shall be treated as such, provided the criteria in Section 43 of the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act 2008 are met. 1.7 Adoption Please see 1.4 Requirements for Non-Genetic Par- ents as to the acquiring of PR upon making of an adoption order. Parental consent is required for an adoption order to be made, except in the following circumstances: • where the parent or guardian cannot be found; and • where the parent or guardian lacks capacity to give consent (pursuant to the Mental Capacity Act 2005), or where there is a risk to the child and their welfare requires that consent be dispensed with (Section 52 Adoption and Children Act 2002). The conditions to be met are set out in Section 47 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, and must be satisfied before making adoption order, as follows. • The parent or guardian consents to the making of an adoption order. • The parent or guardian has consented under Sec - tion 20 (advance consent) and that consent has not been withdrawn and does not oppose the making of an order. The parent or guardian would require the court’s leave to oppose the making of an adop - tion order, and the court must be satisfied that there has been a change of circumstances or that a placement order has been made. • The parent or guardian’s consent should be dis - pensed with. • The child has been placed for adoption by an adoption agency with the prospective adopters in whose favour the order is proposed to be made, and with the consent of each parent or guardian and the mother’s consent when the child was at least six weeks’ old, or the child was placed for adoption under a placement order. The parent or
guardian would require the court’s leave to oppose the making of an adoption order, and the court must be satisfied that there has been a change of circumstances or that a placement order has been made. • The child must be the subject of a Scottish perma - nence order, which provides for granting authority for the child to be adopted, or is free for adoption by virtue of an order made under Article 17 (1) or 18 (1) of the Adoption (Northern Ireland Order) 1987 (SI 1987/2203 (NI22)).
2. Relocation 2.1 Whose Consent Is Required for Relocation?
To remove a child permanently to another jurisdiction, the parent who wishes to move must obtain written consent from all those who hold PR (Section 13 (1) (b) Children Act 1989). In the absence of written con - sent (or as dealt with in 2.2 Relocation Without Full Consent ) or without permission being obtained from the court, prior to removal, that parent could be guilty of an offence of abduction pursuant to Section 1 (1) of the Child Abduction Act 1984, unless one of the exemptions in Section 1 (4) of the Child Abduction Act 1984 applies. This is further dealt with in 3. Child Abduction . 2.2 Relocation Without Full Consent In the absence of consent from all those who hold PR, the parent wishing to permanently remove a child from the jurisdiction of England and Wales must seek permission of the court to do so. The parent wish - ing to relocate would need to make an application for a specific issue order (Form C100 and Form C1A (if required)) and the application would be made pursu - ant to: • Section 13 (1)(b) of the Children Act 1989 – if an existing child arrangements order is in place which provides for with whom a child lives and when they are to live with any person (Section 13 (4) Children Act 1989); or • Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 – if no existing order is in place.
150 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook