Intercountry adoption and the Hague Convention: Article 22 and limitations upon safeguarding [2012] CFLQ 389

Keywords: inter-country adoption; Hague Convention; regulation; protection of children

This paper identifies the safeguarding role of the Hague Convention as being of primary importance, and through a close analysis of the text to Article 22 of the Convention, it seeks to demonstrate that this safeguarding role is compromised significantly by its implicit toleration of the involvement of so-called ‘approved (non-accredited) persons' at critical stages in the intercountry adoption process. The discussion is set within a wider context that considers the current practice and prevalence of intercountry adoption. It considers too the extent to which the delegation of a State's powers in respect of intercountry adoption is appropriate, when considered in light of current thinking regarding every State's responsibility to promote family preservation within a child-sensitive system of social protection.

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