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Malaysia: Citizenship For Adopted And Legitimised Children: To The Federal Court And Back Again [2020] 2 MLJ vi

In an earlier article entitled "Citizenship for Adopted Children - A Malaysian Perspective [2013] 1 MLJ xiii", we described the story of a child who was given up for adoption by his biological parents and was subsequently adopted by Malaysian citizens. In the judicial review proceedings, the parents sought from the High Court declarations that the child is a Malaysian citizen pursuant to Section 1(a) and Section 1(e) of Part II of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution. Lau Bee Lan J (now JCA) in Lee Chin Pon & Anor v Registrar-General of Births and Deaths, Malaysia [2010] (unreported) declared the child a citizen by operation of law.

Since the decision of Lee Chin Pon, a number of similar cases have been brought to the Courts with mixed results and inconsistent outcomes. In this article, we describe five cases in which the children (referred to as P, C, L, T and M to respect their privacy) sought judicial recognition of their citizenship by operation of law under Article 14 of the Federal Constitution. These matters originated in the High Court and were eventually set for joint hearings at the Federal Court.

Detailed submissions were prepared and filed in the Federal Court. Counsel were ready with oral arguments. However, after repeated adjournments, the appeals were ultimately settled when the Ministry of Home Affairs granted citizenship by registration under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution to the children. In the absence of a decision by the Federal Court on the merits of the novel issues, the uncertainty and inconsistencies in the law remain.

This article will start with a summary of the facts, issues and proceedings in the five cases. The arguments raised by parties in the written submissions filed in the Federal Court will also be set out. This article concludes with a description of the journey at the Federal Court leading to the amicable settlement of these matters.

In the matter of P (A Child)

'The shame was not theirs – it was ours': Full text of Taoiseach's apology to mother and baby home survivors

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN today delivered a landmark apology to survivors of mother and baby homes.

It comes following the publication of the report by the Mother and Baby Homes Commission following a five-year investigation.

Below is the full text of the Taoiseach’s apology:

It is the duty of a republic to be willing to hold itself to account. To be willing to confront hard truths – and accept parts of our history which are deeply uncomfortable.This detailed and highly painful report is a moment for us as a society to recognise a profound failure of empathy, understanding and basic humanity over a very lengthy period.Its production has been possible because of the depth of courage shown by all those who shared their personal experiences with the Commission.

The report gives survivors what they have been denied for so long: their voice, their individuality, their right to be acknowledged.

Hollywood star’s search for a baby brought focus on Irish adoptions

Hollywood star’s search for a baby brought focus on Irish adoptions

Publicity surrounding the Hollywood actor Jane Russell and her adoption of an Irish baby angered the then government because it portrayed Ireland as ‘exporting babies’ for the benefit of wealthy Americans who wanted children.

Russell was one of the most famous performers in the world when in November 1951 she adopted Thomas Kavanagh, a 15-month-old born to Irish parents in London.

The adoption almost scuppered her career and led to allegations in the international press that Irish institutions were effectively selling babies to the highest bidder.

Tommy’s mother, Florrie turned up at the Savoy Hotel in London after she heard Russell was looking to adopt an Irish child. The Irish authorities became involved when Russell publicly complained that British law did not allow her to take the child out of Britain, which had stopped the practice in 1948.

Mother and baby homes: Cases of underage pregnant girls were not referred to Gardaí

MANY CASES OF underage girls who became pregnant and were sent to mother and baby homes were not referred to Gardaí to investigate as statutory rape.

The long-awaited final report from the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation was published today. It called for survivors of the institutions to be given a State apology, redress and access to their birth information.

Although there are some cases of women reporting allegations of their rape to Gardaí cited in the Mother and Baby Home Commission report, it notes that “most of the mother and baby homes and county homes under investigation did not have a policy of reporting underage pregnancies to the Gardaí”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that it was “striking” that in many cases where underage girls became pregnant, it was not referred to authorities at the time.

“Clearly statutory rape was involved,” he said at a press briefing this afternoon. “It’s just extraordinary that no one even thought for a second, it seems from personal testimonies, that these issues should be pursued.”

Adoption: à la recherche de ses racines - YouTube

While adoption represents the possibility of creating a new happy family, it is no less difficult for some adopted children. This is the case of Brigitta, a young woman of 28 adopted at the age of two in Romania by French parents. But thanks to his perseverance and the work of the association "The way to us", she has achieved the unthinkable: to find her biological mother. http://lecheminjusquanous.com/

5-year investigation finds at least 9,000 children died in Ireland's mother and baby homes

A STATE APOLOGY, redress and access to their birth information should be given to survivors of mother and baby homes, the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation has recommended.

The commission’s long-awaited final report – which can be read here – was published today.

The document, spanning 2,865 pages, details the experiences of women and children who lived in 14 mother and baby homes and four county homes – a sample of the overall number of homes – between 1922 and 1998.

It confirms that about 9,000 children died in the 18 homes under investigation – about 15% of all the children who were in the institutions.

The report notes: “In the years before 1960 mother and baby homes did not save the lives of ‘illegitimate’ children; in fact, they appear to have significantly reduced their prospects of survival. The very high mortality rates were known to local and national authorities at the time and were recorded in official publications.”

Catherine Corless: ‘Boarded out’ children from Tuam Mother and Baby Home were delivered like a puppy to their new owners

The fostering system or ‘boarding out’ of children began in the era of the Workhouse, where boys and girls of working age were routinely fostered out to farmers in the neighbouring townlands to assist in household and farm duties.

This system became popular in the era of the Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland.

With the closing of the Glenamaddy Workhouse/Hospital in 1925, the Bon Secours Sisters who nursed there were asked by the Galway Health Board to come to the Tuam Workhouse to run it as a Mother and Baby Home.

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Allegations that large sums were paid to adopt children ‘impossible to prove’

Allegations that large sums of money were paid to adopt children held in Mother and Baby Homes are “impossible to prove and impossible to disprove”, the Mother and Baby Homes Commission has found.

Official records show that between 1922 and 1998, 1,638 children who were resident in mother and baby homes and four county homes were placed for foreign adoption – 1,427 children went to the US.

Noting that “many allegations have been made” about payments, the commission said it is unlikely that there would be any documentary evidence of any such transactions.

Some of the language used by those looking to adopt was “crass”, the commission said. “Some had an undue sense of entitlement – they were good people and should be given a child. Others were very specific in their requirements.”

One woman told Galway County Council that she wanted a blonde, blue-eyed girl. “Such language displays a sense of entitlement, but it does not necessarily mean that they were ‘buying’ children,” the commission found.

Uzbekistan: 185 newborns sold over four-year period

Authorities in Uzbekistan have revealed that they recorded 185 cases of babies being bought and sold between 2017 and 2020.

Interior Ministry representative Nargiza Khojiboyeva said in a briefing on January 12 that in the majority of such cases, mothers had resorted to this extreme act because of financial and social insecurity.

Across the board, figures on human trafficking point to a positive trend. If 574 cases of human trafficking were recorded in 2012, that had dropped to 74 by 2020, according to the Interior Ministry.

Children remain acutely exposed, however.

A report produced in December by the National Commission on Combating Human Trafficking and Forced Labor concluded that 31 percent of women who sold a newborn child did so because of their “social and economic situation.” Fifty-two percent are said to have done it for financial gain.

'I unreservedly apologise': Archbishop Martin accepts Church's part in mother and baby home scandal

THE LEADER OF the Catholic Church in Ireland has “unreservedly” apologised to the survivors of mother and baby homes following the publication of the long-awaited final report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission.

Archbishop Eamon Martin said he accepts that the Church was clearly part of that culture in which people were “frequently stigmatised, judged and rejected”.

“For that, and for the long-lasting hurt and emotional distress that has resulted, I unreservedly apologise to the survivors and to all those who are personally impacted by the realities it uncovers,” Martin said in a statement issued this evening.

Martin called on all those who are in positions of leadership in the Church to study the report carefully and “identify, accept and respond to the broader issues which the Report raises about our past, present and future”.

The report details the experiences of women and children who lived in 14 mother and baby homes and four county homes – a sample of the overall number of homes – between 1922 and 1998. It confirms that about 9,000 children died in the 18 homes under investigation – about 15% of all the children who were in the institutions.