England & Wales · 2002
Adoption and Children Act 2002 — PR reforms
Protects: Children and parents in adoption and special guardianship proceedings.
Information only. This is not legal advice. Court procedures and the law change. Always confirm with a solicitor, Citizens Advice, or a domestic abuse advocate before acting.
Summary
Reformed PR in three key ways: (i) s.111 gave unmarried fathers automatic PR on joint birth registration from 1 Dec 2003; (ii) created Special Guardianship Orders (s.14A–G Children Act 1989); (iii) on adoption, PR of the birth parents is extinguished and vested exclusively in the adopters (s.46).
Key provisions
s.111 — Joint birth registration
Inserted s.4(1)(a) Children Act 1989 — unmarried father registered jointly on the birth certificate acquires PR automatically (births from 1 Dec 2003).
s.115 — Special Guardianship
Inserted s.14A–G Children Act 1989. SG gives the special guardian PR which they can exercise to the exclusion of any other PR holder except another special guardian.
s.46 — Adoption order effect
All PR of birth parents and any other person is extinguished; PR vests in the adopters as if the child had been born to them.
s.120 — Definition of harm
Extended the s.31 Children Act 1989 definition of 'harm' to include impairment from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another (domestic abuse).
What this Act affects
The specific protective court orders and decision points this Act creates or feeds — with the exact statutory section.
Joint birth registration → automatic PR
s.111 (amending s.4 CA 1989)Decision point: unmarried fathers on the birth certificate from 1 Dec 2003 have PR automatically.
Special Guardianship Order
s.115 (inserting ss.14A–G CA 1989)Enhanced PR for a non-parent; can be exercised to the exclusion of others.
Effect of adoption on PR
s.46Decision point: birth parents' PR extinguished; vested exclusively in adopters.