A Comparative Legal Study of the Marriage with an Adopted Child in Iran, UK and Germany

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Family Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Philology and Cultural Sciences, Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of Vienna, Austria

Abstract

Adoption is a legal institution by which a child with no family is placed under the care and support of a family. In this regard, the adopters (or the single adopter) carry all responsibilities of the natural parents towards the child, and a parent-child-relationship will be created between them. Freedom of marriage is one of the fundamental principles of human rights. Nevertheless, today, the prohibition of consanguineous marriage is also a universal principle. In some societies, religions and various legal systems, there are, in respect of different kinship hierarchies, prohibited kinship degrees with whom a matrimonial relationship is forbidden. The “Law on the Protection of Children without a Guardian or with an Unworthy Guardian”, which was passed 2013, prohibits marriage between adopters adoptees during the custody period and thereafter, but allows it if the competent court finds out that the best interest of the child so requires. In the absence of an Islamic legal prohibition, there have been cases of marriage with an adoptee. This kind of marriage is now, at least, dependent on court’s permission based on the best interests of the child. On the other hand, it is forbidden for adopters to marry the adoptee in England and Germany, two countries whose laws are going to be analyzed in this study. In this regard, this article seeks to explain the legal status of three countries, i.e. Iran, England, and Germany, with a focus on the principle of the best interest of the child and the freedom of marriage. Although the conditional ban on marriage in Iran's legal system and its prohibition in two other countries indicate a common concern of the Iranian legislature with the above mentioned countries, it seems that the principle of freedom of marriage continues to be of particular importance and, therefore, has its impact on this ban.

Keywords

References

  1. 1. فارسی

    الف) کتاب‌ها

    1. جعفری لنگرودی، محمدجعفر (۱۳۴۶)، ترمینولوژی حقوق، تهران: ابن‌سینا.
    2. شریعتی‌نسب، صادق (1390)، فرزندخواندگی، تهران: شهر دانش.
    3. کاتوزیان، ناصر (۱۳۸۵)، حقوق مدنی خانواده، ج 2 (اولاد)، تهران: شرکت سهامی انتشار.
    4. کاتوزیان، ناصر (۱۳۷۷)، دورۀ مقدماتی حقوق مدنی: خانواده، تهران: میزان.
    5. مکارم شیرازی، ناصر (1374)، تفسیر نمونه، ج 3، تهران: دارالکتب‌الاسلامیه.
    6. موسوی بجنوردی، سید محمد (۱۳۸۸)، «بررسی وضعیت فرزندخواندگی بعد از انقلاب اسلامی»، مجموعۀ مقالات فقهی- حقوقی و اجتماعی، ج 9، تهران: مؤسسۀ تنظیم و نشر آثار امام خمینی.

     

    ب) مقالات

    1. روشن، محمد و غدیری، ماهرو (1392)، «فرزندخواندگی و حق بر خانواده در پرتو مصالح عالیه کودک»، فصلنامۀ تحقیقات حقوقی، ویژه‌نامۀ ش 13.
    2. غدیری، ماهرو (۱۳۹۵)، «سن و رضایت به ازدواج از منظر نظام بین‌المللی حقوق بشر»، فصلنامۀ خانواده‌پژوهی، ش ۴۵.
    3. غدیری، ماهرو و، اسماعیلی، مهران (۱۳۹۶)، «ازدواج با فرزندخوانده از منظر قانون اساسی ایران»، فصلنامۀ خانواده‌پژوهی، ش ۵۰.

     

    ج) قوانین

    ۱۰. قانون حمایت از کودکان بی‌سرپرست ۱۳۵۳

    ۱۱. قانون حمایت از کودکان و نوجوانان بی‌سرپرست و بدسرپرست ۱۳۹۲

    ۱۲. قانون مجازات اسلامی ۱۳۹۲

    ۱۳. قانون مدنی

     

    2. خارجی

    A) Books

    14. Botthof, Andreas (2014), Perspektiven der Minderjährigenadoption (Vol. 316). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.

    15. Douglas, Gillian (2016), "The Changing Concept of 'Family' and Challenges for Family Law in England and Wales", in: European Family Law, by Jens M. Scherpe (ed), Vol: II, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    16. Ihlefeldt, Alexander (2014), Adoptio imitatur naturam? Die Adoption im Wandel der Zeit (Vol. 966). München: GRIN Verlag.

    17. Lowe, Nigel and Douglas, Gillian (2014), Bromley's Family Law; Eleventh Edition, Oxford University Press.

    18. Meincke, Jens Peter (2016), Römisches Privatrecht (Vol. 4716). Stuttgart: UTB.

    19. Neukirchen, Christoph (2005), Die rechtshistorische Entwicklung der Adoption. Bern: Peter Lang.

    20. Nowak, Manfred (2007), UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights CCPR Commentary, 2nd Revised Edition, Oxford University Press.

    21. Paulitz, Harald (1997), Offene Adoption: ein Plädoyer, Freiburg: Lambertus.

    22. Reinhardt, Jörg (2016), Reformbedarfe im Recht der Minderjährigenadoption und der Adoptionsvermittlung: eine Übersicht unter Einbeziehung der Regelungen ausgewählter europäischer Staaten. Düren: Shaker Verlag.

    23. Säcker, Franz Jürgen, & Rebmann, Kurt, (Eds), (2015). Münchener Kommentar zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch. München: CH Beck.

    24. Schubert, Werner (1997), Motive zu dem Entwurfe eines Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuches für das Deutsche Reich: 4: Familienrecht (Nachdr. d. Ausg. Berlin und Leipzig, Guttentag 1888. ed., 100 Jahre Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch : Bürgerliches Recht 4) Goldbach: Keip.

    25. Schwab, Dieter, Zenz, Gisela, & Deutsche Juristentag (1982), Soll die Rechtsstellung der Pflegekinder unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Familien-, Sozial-und Jugendrechts neu geregelt werden? Gutachten [A] für den 54. Deutschen Juristentag. München: CH Beck.

    26. Stewart, James, Floyd, Edward, Dziobon, Rebecca (2017), Family law in UK (England and Wales): overview, Pennington Manches LLP, available at: thomsondreuters.com 4/1/2018

     

    B) Articles

    27. Vinnerljung, Bo, and Martin Ribe (2001), "Mortality after care among young adult foster children in Sweden". International Journal of Social Welfare 10(3), 164-173.

    28. Wadlington, Walter J (1963), "The Adopted Child and Intra-Family Marriage Prohibition", Virginia Law Review, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 478-491. Available in: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1071116

     

    C) Laws & Documents

    29. Allgemeine Landrecht für die Preußischen Staaten (PrALR), 1794

    30. Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB), 1896-2020.

    31. Codex Iuris Canonici, 1582-1917.

    32. Codex Iuris Canonici, 1983.

    33. "Declaration of the Rights of the Child", Adopted by General Assembly resolution 1386 (XIV) of 20 November 1959

    34. “Declaration on Social and Legal Principles relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, with special reference to Foster Placement and Adoption Nationally and Internationally”, Adopted by General Assembly resolution 41/85 of 3 December 1986.

    35. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

    36. General Comment No. 7: Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood, 2006.

    37. ISS/IRC, fact sheet no.51,  Dec 2007.Available in: www.iss.ssi.org.

    38. Strafgesetzbuch (StGB), 1871-2020.

    39. UK Adoption of Children Act, 2002  (ACA)

    40. UK Children Act 1926.

    41. UK Children Act 1949.

    42. UK Children Act 1989.

    43. UK Children and Family Act, 2014 (CFA)

    44. UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966.

    45. UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of discrimination Against Women, 1979.

    46. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989.

    47. UN Doc A/Res 45/112 1990, Para 14&17.

     

    D) Electronic Recourses

    48. Codex Iuris Canonici, http://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/latin/ documents/cic_liberI_la.html (Accessed 01.07.2019)

    49. Ghaffar, Atika (2012). Adoption in Islam, Available in:  www.every muslim.com, 13/4/2012

    50. The case of B and L v United Kingdom (Application No.36536/02) the European Court of Human Rights. Available in: http://www.bailii.org/eu/ cases/ECHR/2005/584.html, 2/2/2019

    51. UN: Department of Economic and Social Affairs of Secretariate (2009) Child Adoption: Trends and Policies, Available in: https://www.un.org/ en/development/desa/population/.../pdf/policy/child-adoption.pdf.

Comparative Law Review
Volume 11, Issue 2
Autumn & Winter
October 2020
Pages 659-685

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics