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ADOPTION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1967 - SECT 6

Evidence of consent of parent or guardian.

6.(1) Subject to subsection (2), where a parent or guardian of an infant does
not attend in the proceedings on an application for an adoption order for the
purpose of giving his consent to the making of the order

(a)a document signifying his consent to the making of such an order shall be
admissible as evidence of that consent whether the document is executed before
or after the commencement of the proceedings; and

(b)where that document is attested as mentioned in subsection (3), it shall be
admissible as aforesaid without further proof of the signature of the person
by whom it is executed.

(2) Without prejudice to section 4(3), a document signifying the consent of
the mother of an infant shall not be admissible under this section unless

(a)the infant is at least six weeks old on the date of the execution of the
document; and

(b)the document is attested on that date as mentioned in subsection (3).

(3) Any reference in this section to a document being attested as mentioned in
this subsection is, if the document is executed in the United Kingdom, a
reference to its being attested by either a justice of the peace or

(a)if it is executed in Northern Ireland, an officer of a county court
[designated for the purposes of Article 56 of the County Courts (Northern
Ireland) Order 1980], or any officer of the Supreme Court appointed by the
Lord Chief Justice for the purposes of attesting such a document;

(b)if it is executed in England, an officer of a county court appointed for
the purposes of section 87 of the County Courts Act 1959, or a justice's clerk
within the meaning of section 21 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1949;

(c)if it is executed in Scotland, the sheriff;

(4) For the purposes of this section a document purporting to be attested as
mentioned in subsection (3) shall be deemed to be so attested, and to be
executed and attested on the date and at the place specified in the document,
unless the contrary is proved.


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© 1967 Crown Copyright

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