JERSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Lauren Glynn, Victoria Cure and Tara Lee, Carey Olsen
• Guardian – pursuant to Article 7 of the CJL 2002, a person appointed as a child’s guardian shall have parental responsibility for the child concerned. • Public law proceedings – where a care order is in force with respect to a child, the Minister for Chil - dren and Families shall have parental responsibility for the child. If an emergency protection order is in force with respect to a child, the applicant shall have parental responsibility for the child but shall only take such action in meeting such responsibility as is reasonably required to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare having regard to the duration of the order. • Residence order – where the court makes a resi - dence order in favour of any person who is not the parent or guardian of the child, that person shall have parental responsibility for the child while the residence order remains in force. It is important to note that, where a person who is not the child’s parent has parental responsibility for a child as a result of a residence order, the person shall not have the right to consent, or refuse to consent, to the making of an application with respect to freeing a child for adoption or the making of an adoption order. 1.5 Relevance of Marriage at Point of Conception or Birth As set out in 1.3 Requirements for Fathers , a father will automatically acquire parental responsibility if married to, or in a civil partnership with, the child’s mother at the time of the child’s birth. 1.6 Same-Sex Relationships In Jersey, same-sex marriage is recognised in the Marriage and Civil Status (Amendment No 4) Jersey Law 2018. A birth mother acquires legal parent status and paren - tal responsibility by virtue of being the birth mother. If a child’s mother and second parent were married to, or civil partners of, each other at the time of the child’s birth, they each have parental responsibility for the child.
If a child’s mother and second parent are neither mar - ried to, nor civil partners of, each other at the time of the child’s birth: • the second parent has parental responsibility for the child if she becomes registered as the child’s second parent under Part 5 of the Civil Status Law; • the mother and the second parent may make an agreement providing for the second parent to have parental responsibility for the child; or • the court may, on the second parent’s application, order that she is to have parental responsibility for the child. A second female parent may also obtain parental responsibility via a residence order made in her favour. Notably, the provisions outlined above relate to female same-sex relationships. Where the same-sex relation - ship is between males, it will be necessary to apply for a parental order. It will also be necessary to apply for a parental order in any case where a surrogate has been used. To apply for a parental order, the applicant’s gametes, or, in the case of a joint application, the gametes of at least one of the applicants, must have been used in the child’s conception. Where the gametes of at least one of the applicants were not used, the applicant(s) would need to apply to adopt the child. Where the birth mother is married to, or in a civil part - nership with, a man, the man will be treated in law as the father of the child unless (i) it is shown that the man did not consent to the placing of the embryo and sperm and eggs in the woman or her artificial insemi - nation, or (ii) the child is treated by virtue of adoption or a parental order as not being the man’s child. 1.7 Adoption An adoptive parent automatically acquires parental responsibility upon the making of an adoption order. Pursuant to the Adoption (Jersey) Law 1961, the Court must be satisfied that each parent or the guardian of the child agrees generally and unconditionally to the making of an adoption order or that it is appropriate
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