ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

CHAPTER 26:01
ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

    SECTION

    1.    Short title

    2.    Power to make adoption orders

    3.    Restrictions on making adoption orders

    4.    Matters with respect to which court to be satisfied

    5.    Terms and conditions of order

    6.    Effect of adoption order

    7.    Power to make interim orders

    8.    Power to make subsequent order in respect of infant already

        subject to an order

    9.    Jurisdiction and procedure

    10.    Restriction on payments

    11.    Provisions as to existing de facto adoptions

    12.    Adopted Children Register

    13.    Revision of particulars in Adopted Children Register

        Schedule

13 of 1949
19 of 1957
22 of 1958
8 of 1963
21 of 1967

    An Act to Provide for the Adoption of Children

1.    Short title

    This Act may be cited as the Adoption of Children Act.

2.    Power to make adoption orders

    (1) Upon an application in the prescribed manner by any person desirous of being authorized to adopt an infant who has never been married, the court may, subject to this Act, make an order (in this Act referred to as ‘‘an adoption order’’) authorizing the applicant to adopt that infant.

    (2) A person so authorized to adopt the infant and an infant authorized to be adopted are in this Act referred to as an ‘‘adopter’’ and an ‘‘adopted child’’ respectively, and an “infant” means a person under the age of twenty-one.

    (3) Where an application for an adoption order is made by two spouses jointly, the court may make the order authorizing the two spouses jointly to adopt, but save as aforesaid no adoption order shall be made authorizing more than one person to adopt an infant.

3.    Restrictions on making adoption orders

    (1) An adoption order shall not be made in any case where—

    (a)    the applicant is under the age of twenty-five years; or

    (b)    the applicant is less than twenty-one years older than the infant in respect of whom the application is made:

    Provided that, where the applicant and the infant are within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity, it shall be lawful for the court, if it thinks fit, to make an order notwithstanding that the applicant is less than twenty-one years older than the infant.

    (2) An adoption order shall not be made in any case where the sole applicant is a male and the infant in respect of whom the application is made is a female unless the court is satisfied that there are special circumstances which justify as an exceptional measure the making of an adoption order.

    (3) An adoption order shall not be made except with the consent of every person or body who is a parent or guardian of the infant in respect of whom the application is made or who has the actual custody of the infant or who is liable to contribute to the support of the infant:

    Provided that the court may dispense with any consent required by this subsection if satisfied that the person whose consent is to be dispensed with has abandoned or deserted the infant or cannot be found or is incapable of giving such consent or, being a person liable to contribute to the support of the infant, either has persistently neglected or refused to contribute to such support or is a person whose consent ought, in the opinion of the court and in all the circumstances of the case, to be dispensed with.

    (4) An adoption order shall not be made upon the application of one of two spouses without the consent of the other of them:

    Provided that the court may dispense with any consent required by this subsection if satisfied that the person whose consent is to be dispensed with cannot be found or is incapable of giving such consent or that the spouses have separated and are living apart and that the separation is likely to be permanent.

    (5) An adoption order shall not be made in favour of any applicant who is not resident in Malawi or in respect of any infant who is not so resident.

4.    Matters with respect to which court to be satisfied

    The court before making an adoption order shall be satisfied—

    (a)    that every person whose consent is necessary under this Act and whose consent is not dispensed with has consented to and understands the nature and effect of the adoption order for which application is made, and in particular in the case of any parent understands that the effect of the adoption order will be permanently to deprive him or her of his or her parental rights; and

    (b)    that the order if made will be for the welfare of the infant, due consideration being for this purpose given to…