Adoption Without Consent – Update 2016

This study – commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Petitions – examines the law and practice in England in relation to adoption without parental consent, in comparison to other jurisdictions within the European Union, including on the basis of petitions submitted to the European Parliament on the matter.

It further details the procedures followed by the English courts in relation to child protection proceedings involving a child who has a connection to another EU Member State, and gives recommendations for cooperation between States in future proceedings.

The study concludes that while other EU Member States have mechanisms for permitting adoption without parental consent in specific circumstances, few appear to exercise this power to the extent to which the English authorities do. Still, the lack of comparative statistical data on when this is used, how frequently, and by whom, precludes clear-cut conclusions, calling for more data and research to be carried out.

European Parliament: Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union: Publications available via the EU Bookshop http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/directorate-general-for-internal-policies-of-the-union-cbf.cKABstF7wAAAEjwYYY4e5K/

European Parliament: European Parliamentary Research Service: Study, May 2016: Adoption Without Consent - Update 2016 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/556940/IPOL_STU(2016)556940_EN.pdf

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