Adoption Act 2010
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Orders by court as to custody of children in certain cases. |
51.— (1) If, in any proceedings, an adoption order is declared invalid by a court and the child concerned is in the custody of— | |
(a) the person or persons in whose favour the adoption order was made, or | ||
(b) any other person or persons not being the person or persons who sought the declaration of invalidity, | ||
the court shall not make an order in those proceedings as to the custody of the child except in accordance with subsection (2). | ||
(2) The court may make the order referred to in subsection (1), as to the custody of the child, if— | ||
(a) the order is sought in the proceedings referred to in subsection (1), and | ||
(b) the court is satisfied that, by reason of— | ||
(i) the fact that any person having custody of the child has been joined in the proceedings, and | ||
(ii) the other circumstances of the case, | ||
it is in the interests of justice that the question of the custody of the child should be determined in those proceedings rather than in separate proceedings. | ||
(3) However, if the court decides, in accordance with subsection (2), to determine the question of the custody of the child, the court shall do so subject to section 3 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 . | ||
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (1)— | ||
(a) the person or persons in whose favour an adoption order is made, or | ||
(b) any other person or persons having custody of the adopted child, | ||
shall not, without the consent of the court, be joined or otherwise heard in any proceedings in a court in which the validity of the order is an issue. | ||
(5) In deciding whether to give consent under subsection (4), the court may take into account submissions made to it by the Authority or by any other interested person relating to— | ||
(a) the identification, at the time of the submissions, of the person or persons concerned, or | ||
(b) any other relevant matter. |