Law of adoption

Recommendation 292 (1961)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 26th September 1961 (15th Sitting) (see Doc. 1312, Report of the Legal Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly on 26th September 1961 (15th Sitting).

The Assembly,

Considering that the Committee of Ministers, in their Special Message of 20th May 1954, proclaimed their intention of studying ways of unifying and harmonising legislation in member States and declared that they would welcome the Assembly's proposals in this matter ;

Considering that adoption exists as a legal institution in all member countries of the Council of Europe, but that national legislation on the subject differs both as to the form and as to the substance of adoption;

Considering that these differences are today due less to divergent social conceptions than to the fact that existing legislation is out of step with modern social thinking, but that they none the less lead to conflicts of laws and jurisdictions which may arise over both foreign and domestic adoptions ;

Considering, therefore, that the harmonisation of national legislations on the basis of modern ideas would tend to mitigate the present difficulties ;

Having examined the Report of its Legal Committee (Doc. 1312),

Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :

1 should appoint a committee of governmental experts, composed of lawyers and social experts, to draft a convention which would contain a minimum of essential principles in regard to adoption, based on those set out in the Legal Committee's Report, and whereby the Contracting Parties would undertake to embody such principles in their national legislation ;

2 should refer the draft thus prepared to the Assembly for its opinion before signature by member Governments ;

3 should, if it does not find the Assembly's Recommendation wholly acceptable, refer it back to the Assembly for further consideration, with a statement of its reasons, in accordance with Article 15 of its Rules of Procedure.