1987 Ed.]
Adoption
[CAP. 290
7
(4) Subject to subsection (5), where an application under subsection (1) is dismissed on the ground that to allow it would not be for the welfare of the infant, the former parent who made the application shall not be entitled to make any further application under subsection (1) in respect of the infant.
(5) Subsection (4) shall not apply where the Court which dismissed the application gives leave to the former parent to make a further application under subsection (1), but such leave shall not be given unless it appears to the Court that because of a change in circumstances or for any other reason it is proper to allow the application to be made.
(Added, 13 of 1987, s. 4)
5C. Any adoption order made by the District Court prior to the commencement of the Adoption (Amendment) Ordinance 1987 shall not be invalid by reason only that the District Court dispensed with any consent required under section 5(5)(a).
(Added, 13 of 1987, s. 4)
6. (1) The Court may dispense with any consent required by section 5(5)(a) if it is satisfied-
(a) in the case of a parent or guardian of the infant, that he has abandoned, neglected or persistently ill-treated the infant;
(b) in the case of a person liable by virtue of an order or agreement to contribute to the maintenance of the infant, that he has persistently neglected or refused so to contribute;
(c) in any case, that the person whose consent is required cannot be found or is incapable of giving his consent or that his consent is unreasonably withheld,
or if it is of opinion that such consent ought, in all the circumstances of the case, to be dispensed with.
(2) The Court may dispense with the consent of the spouse of an applicant for an adoption order if satisfied that the person whose consent is to be dispensed with cannot be found or is incapable of giving the consent or that the spouses have separated and are living apart and that the separation is likely to be permanent, or if it is of opinion that such consent ought, in all the circumstances of the case, to be dispensed with.
(3) The consent of any person to the making of an adoption order in pursuance of an application may be given (either unconditionally or subject to conditions with respect to the religious persuasion in which the infant is to be brought up) without knowing the identity of the applicant for the order; and where consent so given by any person is subsequently withdrawn on the ground only that he does not know the identity of the applicant, his consent shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be unreasonably withheld.
Validation of adoption orders. (13 of 1987.)
Consent to adoption. 1950 c. 26, s. 3.