The Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987

Northern Ireland Order in Council 1987 No. 2203 — creates 11 criminal offences.

Made

18 December 1987

In force from

Not determined

Extent

Not stated

Subject

Education, social security, pensions and public services

Made under

Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order.) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

This Order— a imposes on each Health and Social Services Board the duty to provide an adoption service for its area; b makes new provision relating to the registration of adoption societies; c places certain restrictions on arranging adoptions and placing children for adoption; d makes provision to enable children to be freed for adoption with or without parental agreement; e makes provision for the care and protection of children awaiting adoption; f sets out the status of adopted children; g makes provision for the registration of adoption orders; h makes provision for adopted adults to obtain access to their birth records; and i allows for the introduction of schemes for the payment of allowances to adopters and prospective adopters in certain circumstances.

Offences created by this instrument

• Regulation of adoption agencies article 10(2) · Status not determined · Strict liability
• Restriction on arranging adoptions and placing children article 11(3) · Status not determined · Strict liability
• Any person who contravenes paragraph (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary… article 28(3) · Status not determined · Strict liability
• Return of children placed for adoption by adoption agencies article 31(7) · Status not determined · Strict liability
• A person shall be guilty of an offence if— a being required, under Article 36 to serve any notice or give any… article 37(1) · Status not determined · Requires proof of a state of mind
• Restriction on removal of children for adoption outside Northern Ireland article 58(1) · Status not determined · Strict liability
• Prohibition on certain payments article 59(3) · Status not determined · Strict liability
• Procedure and right of appeal where registration refused or cancelled article 6(8) · Status not determined · Requires proof of a state of mind
• Restriction on advertisements article 60(2) · Status not determined · Requires proof of a state of mind
• Prohibition of wrongful disclosure of information article 61 · Status not determined · Strict liability
• Inspection of books, etc., of registered adoption societies article 7(3) · Status not determined · Strict liability

How Parliament handled it

Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.

Check the source

• This instrument on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text, including amendments made since
• Other instruments from 1987