Intercountry Adoption Information Portfolio - Committee on the Rights of the Child - 3. State Party Reports

Committee on the Rights of the Child

3. State Party Reports

Romania

I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION

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B. Measures taken to harmonize law and policy with the provisions of the Convention

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11. In the context of the improved legal framework for the protection of children, appropriate strategies have been developed on the basis of the following principles, which are to be found in the text of the Convention: assistance for families with one or more children to care for; every child has the right to a permanent family; every effort must be made to ensure that children placed in institutional care are reintegrated into their own family; when the natural or adoptive parents are incapable of caring for the child, the latter shall be considered to be in need of placement, temporarily or permanently, in a substitute family; every special measure for the protection of the minor must take into account the general principle according to which "the needs of the child come first" and must take the wishes of the child into consideration; the development of minors who are the subject of a protective measure must be monitored and that measure must be changed if the needs and interests of the child so require; preventive steps must be taken to ensure that the minor is not exploited, neglected or abused; everything must be done to enable all the rights accorded to the child by the law to be exercised, solely in his interests.

12. Among the steps taken to improve the legislative framework for the protection of children, in conformity with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the efforts to coordinate the initiatives in this field with those taken by European and sub-regional bodies should not be overlooked. Thus, a representative of the Romanian National Committee for UNICEF participated in the European Conference on the protection of the child: trends and prospects, organized by the Greek Social Security Committee and UNICEF, with the support of the Commission of the European Communities, and held in Athens from 29 November to 1 December 1991; representatives of CSIOC, of the Romanian Adoption Committee (CRA) and the Ministries of Labour and Social Security and Justice participated in the International Seminar for Central and Eastern Europe on the "Application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: alternative care for children who have been abandoned or are at high risk of abandonment", held at Sofia from 28 September to 2 October 1992 under the sponsorship of UNICEF, the International Social Service, the Defense for Children International Movement, the Bureau international catholique de l'enfance, and the Bulgarian National Committee for UNICEF.

13. At present, the Romanian National Committee, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, is working to have incorporated in the Romanian legislation relating to children the provisions of the resolution inviting the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to examine the possibility of drawing up an additional protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights which would establish a better inventory of children's rights in the form of a European Charter of the rights of the child.

C. Mechanisms at national and local level for coordinating policies relating to children and monitoring the implementation of the Convention

14. At national level, the activities aimed at promoting and protecting the interests of the child are being coordinated, depending on the particular sphere of action, by the departments of central government, namely the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Youth, the State Secretariat for the Handicapped, and the Department of Local Public Administration; by specialized government agencies such as the Central Committee for the orientation and coordination of activity on behalf of minors, the Committee for the support of child care institutions (CSIOC), the Romanian Adoption Committee (CRA), and the Institute for the Protection of Mother and Child; and by the non-governmental organizations which, in addition to the Romanian National Committee for UNICEF (established in February 1990), include the Save the Children organization set up in 1991, the foundation Nos Enfants, CARITAS, the Romanian charity CARROM, Christiana, the Romanian Association for the Rights of the Child, the association Espoir, the Association for Assistance to Children's Homes, S.O.S. - the Romanian children's villages, Concordia, the Romanian League for Mental Health, the League of Orthodox Romanian Youth, the Messengers of Health, and the Romanian Association Against Aids. taking the numerous foreign NGOs into account results in a grand total of almost 400 such organizations.

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23. Similarly, Government Decision No. 63 of 22 January 1991 established, as a government body, the Romanian Adoption Committee (CRA), whose aim is to contribute to the protection of minors through adoption and to implement international cooperation in matters of adoption. The establishment of the CRA reflects the provisions of articles 20 and 21 of the Convention.

24. In parallel with the national bodies, there are departmental directorates operating at the local level, together with other specialized agencies of the Ministries of Labour and Social Security, Health and Education and the State Secretariat for the Handicapped, etc. The local governments of the municipalities and communes have responsibilities as the tutelary authority for minors who find themselves in exceptional circumstances (whose parents are dead, have disappeared or are unknown): they take their statements and arrange for their protection on the basis of social enquiries which enable them to be placed in foster homes or in institutional care.

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IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

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A. Name and nationality

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57. By virtue of adoption, the adopted child acquires the name of the adopter. If the child is adopted by a couple without a common surname, the couple must declare the name which the adopted child will bear" (article 78). "In the event of the adoption being annulled, the adopted child shall take back its former surname; if there are good grounds, the court may approve the child's continuing to bear the surname acquired by adoption" (article 83).

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B. Preservation of identity

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64. With regard to the right of the child to preserve his family relations, in special situations, the Family Code states that the court must hear a child more than 10 years old where it is a question of giving custody of the child to one of the parents in the event of a divorce (article 42); the divorced parent who has not been awarded custody of the child has the right to maintain personal links with that child (article 43); if an adoption is annulled, the minor has the right to revert to his former civil status and to re-establish family relations with his natural parents (article 85); a parent deprived of his or her parental rights may maintain personal relations with the child, with the sole exception of circumstances in which, because of these relations, the education and development of the child would be put at risk (article 111).

C. Freedom of expression and access to information

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68. For an adoption to take place, the Family Code requires the consent of the person adopting, the parents of the adopted minor, and "the consent of the child adopted, if he or she is more than 10 years old" (article 70). A minor who considers that the actions or conduct of the guardian are doing him or her harm may complain to the tutelary authority (article 118).

69. A child placed in institutional care also has the right to address requests or complaints to the committee for the protection of minors, which must consider them and take the appropriate measures as required by law, in the interests of the protection and development of the child (Act No. 3/1970, article 12(b)). Where the minor is more than 14 years old, the court must ask for his or her opinion in the following cases: before deciding the question of citizenship following adoption (when only one of the adoptive parents is a Romanian citizen and if the two adoptive parents cannot agree on the citizenship of the adopted child); when the parents re-acquire Romanian citizenship as a result of repatriation (if they cannot agree on the citizenship of their under-age child); when only one of the parents acquires Romanian citizenship on request, the other remaining a foreign citizen or stateless person (again if they cannot agree on the citizenship of the child). In all these situations, the court must take into account the interests of the minor and obtain his consent, if he is more than 14 years old (Act No. 21/1991, articles 6, 8, and 10).

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V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE

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(f) Future measures

108. Among the future measures designed to ensure optimum conditions for the rearing and development of children in institutional care, which are to be coordinated by CSIOC, in collaboration with other bodies, ministries and non-governmental organizations, the following deserve particular mention: the publicity campaign to recruit teachers and nurses for the orphanages, following Government Decision No. 484/1990 which improved staffing ratios; the distribution of foreign aid; measures to broaden the horizon and expand the range of social contacts of the children placed in institutional care (free admission to puppet theatres, holidays in monasteries, holidays paid for by foreign organizations); collaboration with the tutelary authority at local government level and with the registry office to speed up clarification of the legal status of children placed in institutional care, which will open the way to alternative care in a family environment (reintegration with the biological family, foster placement, adoption); canvassing for and/or accepting programmes to be implemented in collaboration with non-governmental organizations, domestic or foreign, for example: assessment of the situation of children in institutions (League of Mental Health and Medicus Mundi); training of nurses (Danish Red Cross, French Red Cross, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education); training of social security personnel (HOLT); training of specialists in problems of alternative care (Defense for Children International Movement, ISS, PACT, UNICEF, CRA).

109. According to an expert from the Commission of the European Communities, "The life of the children in institutional care is one of the areas in which the most obvious improvements have been recorded in Romania during the last two years".

(g) Adoption

110. Romania is one of the States to have recognized and permitted adoption in the best interests of the child, in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (a) to (e) of article 21 of the Convention.

111. Up to 1990, when certain provisions of the law on adoption were amended, the tutelary authority was responsible for approving adoption. Act No. 11 of 31 July 1990 transferred the approval of adoption into the hands of the courts. The latter must verify that the conditions of article 21(a) of the Convention have been fulfilled and establish, in accordance with the law and on the basis of reliable information, taking into consideration the situation of the child in relation to its parents and legal representatives, whether those whose agreement is required by law have consented to the adoption with full knowledge of the facts.

112. The court ensures that adoption does not take place in circumstances in which it is prohibited by law: adoption between brothers (Family Code, article 67); adoption by persons who are not legally qualified to act as a guardian and are not at least 18 years older than the child they wish to adopt, except where there are good grounds for disregarding the difference in age (idem, article 68); adoption by several persons, at the same time or successively, unless they be married (idem, article 69.1). If only one of the spouses adopts, the court shall ensure that the case file includes a declaration of acceptance by the other spouse, except where he or she has had his or her civil rights suspended, has been deprived of parental rights over his or her own children or is incapable of expressing his or her own wishes (article 69.2).

113. Providing that all the other legal requirements have been met, adoption may be authorized only if the court, on the basis of the information and opinions obtained, finds that "the person adopting can ensure the normal physical and moral development of the child adopted, and that the adoption is not for the purpose of exploiting the child or for other purposes contrary to the law or the rules of social cohabitation" (Family Code, article 76).

114. In permitting intercountry adoption, Romanian law did not originally recognize its secondary nature, as a means of ensuring the necessary care of a child that cannot be placed with a Romanian family to be reared and educated in a suitable fashion. Considering that during 1990 this situation led to the receipt of a large number of adoption applications from foreigners, most of which were approved, Act No. 11/1990 was supplemented and republished in 1991 to restrict the category of children that can be adopted by foreigners or Romanian citizens domiciled or resident abroad, by giving priority in matters of adoption to Romanian citizens domiciled in Romania and thus bringing the law into harmony with the provisions of article 21(b) of the Convention.

115. As distinct from the case of adoption by a Romanian citizen domiciled in Romania (in this case the local civil court is competent to authorize the adoption), intercountry adoption can only be authorized by the court of the department in which the child has its domicile. Moreover, the court may approve an intercountry application for the adoption of a Romanian child only if the application is accepted by the Romanian Adoption Committee and if there is no application for adoption from a Romanian citizen domiciled in Romania.

116. Set up in 1991, the Romanian Adoption Committee (CRA), working in collaboration with similar foreign bodies, has the task of ensuring the observance of standards and safeguards with respect to the care appropriate for an adopted child equivalent to those existing under Romanian law, following the child's departure from Romania; the Committee must also make sure that the adoption does not lead to financial gain and has no other consequences contrary to the best interests of the child, in accordance with the provisions of article 21(c)-(d) of the Convention.

117. The Romanian Adoption Committee acts to separate children from their parents, when the interests of the child so require, and tries to find them an adoptive family, except in those cases in which, as a temporary solution, foster placement may seem best. For the child, the best solution of all is for it to remain in its biological family. This is the reason for insisting that the links between children placed in institutional care and their families are maintained. Unfortunately, in Romania there is not a well established social security network, and the creation of such a network presents practical difficulties. Setting up a network will require a few years in which to train new professionals in the universities and post-lycée colleges and to create the necessary structures.

118. The Romanian Adoption Committee is endeavouring to find adoptive families for children deprived of their family environment. National adoption is receiving priority. To this end, in July 1991 amendments were made to Act No. 11/1990. Romanian families can adopt children placed in institutional care, as well as through the agency of the Romanian Adoption Committee. In 1991, the civil courts authorized 1404 national adoptions. As regards intercountry adoptions, since it was set up in 1991 the CRA has authorized 740 such adoptions.

119. The CRA works only with foreign adoption agencies approved by the respective States and by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, on the basis of replies to the questionnaire drawn up by the Committee and well established selection criteria. These working agreements have been concluded precisely in the best interests of the child, so that a child concerned by intercountry adoption can be monitored in its adoptive family for a period of two years after adoption in Romania.

120. The CRA receives information on the development of the child from the agency's social workers for a period of 24 months following adoption. If the adoption does not work out, the CRA is consulted to enable it to take, together with the corresponding organization, the most appropriate decision in the interests of the child. Unfortunately, in the child care institutions there are many abandoned children who have not been visited by their parents for a very long time and are not adoptable under the legislation in force, which is deficient in this respect.

121. During the training seminar organized by CSIOC and the Romanian Adoption Committee, with the support of the International Social Service (ISS) and the Defense for Children International Movement, and held in Bucharest in June 1991, it was agreed that intercountry adoption should be considered only if an acceptable solution cannot be found in the child's country of origin. Furthermore, for two years a special committee of The Hague Conference on Private International Law has been working on a Convention on international cooperation and protection of children in respect of intercountry adoption. This Convention will be adopted in 1993. Romania is actively participating in the preparatory work through the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Justice and the Romanian Adoption Committee.

122. In September 1992, the Ministry of Justice and the Romanian Adoption Committee placed before Parliament a bill concerning the legal declaration of abandonment, which provides for the possibility of declaring abandoned a child placed in a State institution for social or medical care, in a private child care institution or with a natural person, in conformity with the law, if the parents have clearly taken no interest in the child for more than a year. The bill defines the notion of "abandonment" by taking the words "taken no interest" to mean that all links between the parents and the child which might demonstrate the existence of normal parental feelings have been broken. This obliges the institutions to keep a strict record of visits and other evidence of the existence of such links between parents and child.

123. The declaration of abandonment by a final decision of the court would have the effect of transferring the parental rights and duties to the social or medical institution, the private institution or the natural person to whom the child has been entrusted, as the case may be. The move has received support from the Romanian National Committee for UNICEF which has sent a memorandum to the offices of both chambers - the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies - with a view to getting the bill adopted by Parliament under the priority procedure.

Source: Initial reports of States parties due in 1992: Romania, UN Doc. CRC/C/3/Add.16, paras. 11-14, 23-24, 57, 64, 68-69, 108-123 (3 June 1993)

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