ACTIn ForceAct
Adoption Act 1993
57MDeclaration of validity of adoption order made outside
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57M Declaration of validity of adoption order made outside
Australia
(1) Any of the parties to an adoption order made in a country outside
Australia may apply to the court for a declaration that the order
complies with section 57L.
(2) On an application under this section, the court may—
(a) direct that notice of the application be given to the people
(including the Attorney-General) that the court thinks fit; or
(b) direct that a person be made a party to the application; or
(c) permit a person having an interest in the matter to intervene in,
and become a party to, the proceeding.
Recognition of other overseas adoptions Division 4A.4
(3) If the court makes a declaration under this section, it may include in
the declaration the particulars in relation to the adoption, the adopted
person and the adoptive parent or parents that the court finds to be
established.
(4) For the law of the Territory, a declaration under this section binds—
(a) the Territory, whether or not notice was given to the
Attorney-General; and
(b) a person who was a party to the proceeding for the declaration
or a person claiming through a party to the proceeding; and
(c) a person to whom notice of the application for the declaration
was given or a person claiming through a person given notice.
(5) For the law of the Territory, a declaration under this section does not
affect—
(a) the rights of a person not mentioned in subsection (4); or
(b) an earlier judgment, order or decree of a court or other body of
competent jurisdiction.
(6) In a proceeding in a court of the Territory, the production of a certified
copy of a declaration made under this section is evidence—
(a) of the facts stated in, and the matters appearing from, the order
mentioned in subsection (1); and
(b) that the adoption complies with section 57L.