Становление законодательства о международном усыновлении в Республике Беларусь

Abstract

At present Belarus is active in conducting proceedings in international adoption. The country collaborates with ten countries: Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Canada, the USA, France, the FRG and Sweden. Joining the international adoption process, every state, including the Republic of Belarus strives to develop special legislation, regulating this process. But this requires a long time and is connected with a number of controversial issues. The first legal norms, regulating adoption with a foreign dimension appeared in the territory of present-day Belarus back in the XIX century. Those were the norms of Russian legislation extended onto Belarusian territories which happened to be annexed to the Russian empire as a result of three divisions of Rzech Pospolyta. After the collapse of the Russian empire and the establishment of Soviet power the tsarist legislation was abolished and the adoption institution eliminated. It was restored in 1927 only. In 1928 legal provisions regarding adoption complicated by a foreign element appeared in legislation. In 1969 the new family code of the BSSR fixed legal regulation of two groups of relations of adoption with a foreign element: adoption of a Soviet child living outside the USSR and adoption of a Soviet child living within the USSR by foreign nationals. Later, Soviet and foreign citizens obtained the right to adopt children of foreign citizenship with permanent residence in the BSSR. However, actual application of the norms on adoption complicated by a foreign element was very rare and the mechanism of legal implementation of this kind of adoption remained undeveloped. The collapse of the USSR and the declaration of sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus gave an impetus to Belarusian legislation reforms. The modification was greatly influenced by international legal norms. The Republic of Belarus recognizes the precedence of generally accepted principles of international law. It has ratified the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and signed the 1993 Hague Convention. The RB has become party to the 1993 CIS countries Convention on Legal Help and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases and has concluded bilateral agreements on legal help with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Vietnam which contain the norms regulating proceedings in international adoption cases. At present the legal basis of the RB on international adoption is made up by the following legal instruments: the 2000 version of the law "On the Rights of the Child", the 1999 Marriage and Family Code; the Law "On Citizenship of the Republic of Belarus" from August 1, 2002; the provision "On Procedure of Adoption of Children and Taking Them in Ward" by Foreign Citizens, Stateless Persons and Belarusian Citizens with Permanent Residence on the Territory of a Foreign State" from October 28, 1999 including the amendments introduced by the resolution from July 11, 2001 and other normative acts. The process of formation of international adoption legislation in Belarus has been rather complicated, controversial and it is not over yet. Nevertheless it can be confidently stated that the existing legal basis, regulating the proceedings of international adoption in the RB is sufficiently developed and in general meets the internationally recognized standards in this sphere.