Read up on acts of parliament, secondary legislation, and case law affecting fostering & adoption in Northern Ireland.
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On this page:
> Primary Legislation / Acts of Parliament
> Secondary Legislation / Statutory Instruments
> Case Law
> Other sources of legal information
Acts of Parliament
Listed in this section (in date order, most recent first) are the main Acts and Orders affecting adoption and the public care of children in Northern Ireland.
The Commissioner for Children and Young People (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Applies to Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Executive announced its intention to create a Commissioner for Children and Young People for Northern Ireland in January 2001. This Order sets out the functions and power of the Commissioner.
www.northernireland-legislation.hmso.gov.uk
Health and Social Care Bill (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003
Applies to the UK
The full text of the act is available at:
www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/
The Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Order strengthens the existing arrangements under which checks must be carried out on people wishing to work with children or vulnerable adults.
Click through to
www.northernireland-legislation.hmso.gov.uk
Adoption and Children Act 2002
Applies to England and Wales, although some sections apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 received Royal Assent in November 2002 and modernises the whole existing legal framework for domestic and intercountry adoption. It also introduces a new legal order, special guardianship, which offers legal permanence for children for whom adoption is not suitable.
The Act was fully implemented on 30 December 2005.
See more about the implementation of the Act and associated regulations and guidance >>
Children (Leaving Care) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Act is intended to improve the life chances of young people leaving the care of Health and Social Services Trusts by introducing duties to offer them care and support until the age of twenty-one.
Click through to
www.northernireland-legislation.hmso.gov.uk
Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act (Northern Ireland) 2001
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Act amends the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 and enables the ratification of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.
www.northernireland-legislation.hmso.gov.uk
Family Law Act (Northern Ireland) 2001
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Act changed the law to give parental responsibility to fathers of children jointly registered after 15th April 2002.
www.northernireland-legislation
Protection of Children Act 1999
Applies to the UK
This Act created a system for identifying people unsuitable to working with children and introduced the checking of criminal records of people who want to work with children or young people.
www.hmso.gov.uk
Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Order in Council defines parental responsibility and rights, makes the welfare of the child paramount and imposes duties on Health and Social Services Boards and Health and Social Services trusts towards looked after children and children in need.
www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk
The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption 1993
Applies to the UK
Provides a framework for the process of intercountry adoption, and sets out minimum standards and requirements for countries of origin.
www.hcch.net/e/conventions
Children Act 1989
Applies to England and Wales; some sections affect Northern Ireland and Scotland
This Act introduces major reforms to legislation for children, including introducing the concept of parental responsibility and giving powers to local authorities to provide service for children in need.
- A summary of the main provisions can be read at www.childpolicy.org.uk
- A Department of Health publication from 2001 provides a summary of 24 studies evaluating the implementation of the Children Act 1989, The Children Act Now: Messages from Research, can be found at www.dh.gov.uk (pdf)
- The Children Act Report 2002 presents the latest information about the work councils do to safeguard children and promote their welfare, and is available at www.dfes.gov.uk
- The full Act is available online at www.hmso.gov.uk
Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987
Applies to Northern Ireland
This Order establishes the arrangements necessary for adoption, and the care and protection of children waiting to be adopted.
www.hmso.gov.uk
European Convention on the Adoption of Children 1967
Applies to the UK
Contains a list of provisions on adoption practice that must be incorporated into legislation by member states. It was ratified by the UK in 1968.
http://conventions.coe.int
Secondary Legislation/Statutory Instruments
Secondary legislation allows the provisions in an Act of Parliament to be implemented and changed as required.
The different types of secondary legislation and the Parliamentary procedure for making statutory instruments are explained in the House of Commons Information Office Factsheet available at:
www.parliament.uk (pdf)
Our fortnightly E-bulletin explains new statutory instruments as they happen. Access archives and subscribe to the bulletin (this service is for BAAF members only - join BAAF).
UK Statutory Instruments
www.opsi.gov.uk/stat.htm
Northern Ireland Statutory Instruments
www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/northernireland/ni-srni.htm
Case Law / Court Rulings
Northern Ireland Court Service
www.courtsni.gov.uk
British and Irish Legal Information Institute
Access to Freely Available British and Irish Public Legal Information
www.bailii.org
European Court of Human Rights - Judgments and Decisions
www.echr.coe.int
Key cases are reported on in the Legal Notes section of our journal Adoption & Fostering
Other sources of information
Online sources of legislation
UK
Full text of all Public and Local Acts of the UK Parliament, the Explanatory Notes to Public Acts, Statutory Instruments and Draft Statutory Instruments; and Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England.
www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk
Northern Ireland
Full text of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Explanatory Notes to the Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland.
www.northernireland-legislation
Legislation in Progress
The 4 National Child Policy Network offers summaries and updates on legislation passing through UK Parliaments and Assemblies.
www.childpolicy.org.uk
The progress of Bills passing through the UK parliament can be followed on the Bill index database. Also provides links to the full text of the Bill, the Hansard debate and any proposed amendments.
http://bills.ais.co.uk
Legislative Process
The House of Commons Information Office has published a series of factsheets explaining the legislative process in the UK.
Factsheet L1: Parliamentary Stages of a Government Bill
www.parliament.uk (pdf)
Factsheet L8: Northern Ireland Business and Legislation
www.parliament.uk (pdf)
The legislative process for Public Bills in the Northern Ireland Assembly is described in this factsheet.
www.niassembly.gov.uk (pdf)
Official Reports of Proceedings
UK Parliament - House of Commons and the House of Lords
www.parliament.uk/hansard
Northern Ireland Assembly
NB The Assembly was suspended from midnight on 14 October 2002.
www.niassembly.gov.uk/record/hansard
Law Reform Organisations
Government bodies appointed to recommend reforms to improve, simplify and update the law.
Northern Ireland
Office of Law Reform www.olrni.gov.uk
Other Organsations
Association of Lawyers for Children
An organisation which promotes justice for children and young people within the legal system in England and Wales
www.alc.org.uk
CAFCASS
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
www.cafcass.gov.uk
The Professional Association for Children's Guardians and Children and Family Reporters
www.nagalro.com
Information and Advice
Sources of Information and Advice on Law Relating to Children, Young People and Families
Department for Education and Skills Adoption Site
A good source of information on legislation relating to the welfare of children is the DfES site on adoption
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/adoption/lawandguidance/
LAWLINKS
Legal Information on the Internet A well organised catalogue of legal sites compiled by Sarah Carter, Law Librarian at the University of Kent.
http://library.kent.ac.uk
The AIRE Centre
An organisation providing information and advice on human rights, throughout Europe
www.airecentre.org
The Children's Legal Centre
Operates a free and confidential legal advice and information service covering all aspects of law and policy affecting children and young people.
www.childrenslegalcentre.com
CompactLaw
Concise and independent legal information for consumers and business customers
www.compactlaw.co.uk
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