Adoption of Children (Scotland) Act 1930
Adoption of Children (Scotland) Act, 1930.
(20 & 21 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 37.
An Act to make provision for the adoption of children in Scotland.
[1st August 1930]
B E it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Power to make adoption orders.
(1) Upon an application in the prescribed manner by any person desirous of being authorised to adopt a child under the age of twenty-one years who has never been married, the Court may, subject to the provisions of this Act, make an order (in this Act referred to as ‘an adoption order’) authorising, the applicant to adopt that child.
(2) A person so authorised to adopt the child and a child authorised to be adopted are in this Act referred to as an ‘adopter’ and an ‘adopted child’ respectively.
(3) Where an application for an adoption order is made by two spouses jointly, the Court may make the order authorising the two spouses jointly to adopt, but save as aforesaid no adoption order shall be made authorising more than one person to adopt a child.
2 Restrictions on making adoption orders.
(1) An adoption order shall not be made in any case where—
(a ) the applicant is, or in the case of a joint application both applicants are, under the age of twenty-five years; or
(b ) the applicant is, or in the case of a joint application both applicants are, less than twenty-one years older than the child in respect of whom the application is made:
Provided that, where the applicant or one or other of the joint applicants and the child are within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity, it shall be lawful for the Court, if it thinks fit, to make the order notwithstanding that the applicant is less than twenty-one years older than the child.
(2) An adoption order shall not be made in any case where the sole applicant is a male and the child 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 child in respect of whom the application is made or who has the actual custody of the child or who is liable to contribute to the support of the child and except with the consent of the child if a minor:
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 neglected or treated with cruelty the child or has abandoned or deserted the child or cannot be found or is incapable of giving such consent or, being a person liable to contribute to the support of the child, 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 and domiciled in Scotland or in respect of any child who is not a British subject and so resident.
3 Matters with respect to which Court to be satisfied.
3. The Court before making an adoption order shall be satisfied—
4 Terms and conditions of order.
4. The Court in an adoption order may impose such terms and conditions as the Court may think fit and in particular may require the adopter by bond or otherwise to make for the adopted child such provision (if any) as in the opinion of the Court is just and expedient.
5 Effect of adoption order.
(1) Upon an adoption order being made, all rights, duties, obligations and liabilities of the parent or parents, guardian or guardians of the adopted child, in relation to the future custody, maintenance and education of the adopted child, including all rights to appoint a guardian shall be extinguished, and all such rights, duties, obligations and liabilities shall vest in and be exercisable by and enforceable against the adopter as though the adopted child was a child born to the adopter in lawful wedlock, and in respect of the same matters and in respect of the liability of a child to maintain its parents the adopted child shall stand to the adopter exclusively in the position of a child born to the adopter in lawful wedlock:
Provided that, in any case where two spouses are the adopters, such spouses shall in respect of the matters aforesaid and for the purpose of the jurisdiction of any court to make orders as to the custody and maintenance of and right of access to children stand to each other and to the adopted child in the same relation as they would have stood if they had been the lawful father and mother of the adopted child, and the adopted child shall stand to them respectively in the same relation as a child would have stood to a lawful father and mother respectively.
(2) An adopted child if adopted either by two spouses jointly or by one of two spouses in the lifetime of the other shall, for the purposes of the Widows', Orphans and...
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