Adoption Law of China
Adoption Law of the People’s Republic of China is the main legal regulation in China which is composed of six chapters, including 34 articles. The law is first adopted on 1991, and then revised in 1998. In the current edition, eligibility restrictions for adoption are loosened and adoption procedures are streamlined based on the previous edition.
Purpose of Chinese Adoption Law
The Adoption Law of China is enacted to protect the lawful adoptive relationship and to safeguard the rights of parties involved in the adoptive relationship. Adoption shall be in the interest of the upbringing and growth of adopted minors and in the protection of the legitimate rights of the adoptee and the adopter. Adoption shall not contravene China’s laws and regulations on family planning, i.e. China’s famous one-child policy. China Center of Adoption Affairs is entrusted by Chinese Government mainly for adoptions applied to and made by foreigners. China Association of Social Welfare also offers such services for similar purposes.
Establishment of Adoptive Relationship in China
Minors under the age of 14 are eligible to get adopted. That includes orphans bereaved of parents and abandoned infants or children whose parents cannot be ascertained or found. Children whose parents are unable to rear them due to unusual difficulties are also eligible to be adopted. You can also look at these two books for adoption stories in the books of Ann Rauhala, Vanita Oelschlager and Kay Ann Johnson.
Eligibility of Adopters
The people, who are aged 35 or above, childless and capable of rearing and educating the adoptee, are eligible to adopt. A person can adopt only one child in China according to the regulation. Foreign citizens are also eligible to adopt a child in China. However, papers certifying such particulars of the adopter as age, marital status, profession, property, health and whether subjected once to criminal punishment shall be provided, notarized and authenticated accordingly.
Validity of Adoption:
As of the date of establishment of the adoptive relationship, the legal provisions governing the relationship between parents and close relatives of the parents and children shall apply to the rights and duties in the relationship between adoptive parents and close relatives and adopted children. Any act of adoption contravening the provisions of General Principles of the Civil Law or ruled to be invalid by a people’s court shall be of no legal validity from the very start of the act.
How to Terminate Adoptive Relationship:
Adopter cannot terminate the adoptive relationship before the adoptee comes of age 10. If the adopted child involved reaches the age of 10 or more, his or her consent shall be obtained. Upon termination of an adoptive relationship, an adult adopted child who has been reared by the adoptive parents shall provide an amount of money to support the adoptive parents who have lost ability to work and are short of any source of income.
Related Regulations and Documents:
Similar rules may be included in the following regulations and any other documents or regulations included in any judicial interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court and any international treaties or regulative documents China entered into or participated in entering into.
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Related Laws and Regulations of Adoption Law of People’s Republic of China