Court cannot revoke adoption order despite family's wishes

In a significant ruling earlier this year, the Court of Appeal confirmed that an adoption order cannot be revoked solely on welfare grounds, even if all parties involved, including the adoptive and birth families, are in agreement.

It is clear that in any court proceedings relating to children matters, the children’s welfare is the Court’s paramount consideration. Over the years, there has been much discussion between professionals as to whether adoption orders could be revoked in certain circumstances, and in particular, whether the court can do so on welfare grounds. The Court of Appeal ruled on this issue in January this year, confirming that the Court does not have the power to revoke an adoption order on welfare grounds, even when all family members, including the adoptive mother, support the move.

The case involved two children, now teenagers, whose adoption had broken down. Their adoptive mother applied to have the adoption orders revoked, arguing that it was in the children's best interests for the court to do so. The birth mother and both children supported the application.

However, the Court of Appeal concluded that current adoption law does not allow for an order to be overturned solely on welfare grounds.

Delivering the Court’s judgment, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, said: "The unique attribute of an adoption order, in contrast to any other order that may be made for the welfare of a child, is that it is ‘for life’ and, in common with the legal relationship established at birth, can only be extinguished by the making of a subsequent adoption order."

He added that allowing revocation on welfare grounds could create uncertainty: "If the court does have jurisdiction to set aside a validly made adoption order where, subsequently, it is held to be in the child’s best interests to do so, then the ability to achieve permanence, security and stability for all adopted children may be compromised."

The court considered whether it had any inherent power to revoke an adoption order outside of an appeal process. McFarlane stated: "Adoption in England and Wales is entirely a creature of statute. The statutory scheme contained within the Adoption and Children Act 2002 does not include an express provision permitting a court to revoke an adoption order on welfare grounds."

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