Chương VIII Luật Hôn nhân và Gia đình 2000: Con nuôi

Chapter VIII

ADOPTED CHILDREN

Article 67.- Child adoption

1. Child adoption means the establishment of the parent-child relationship between the adopter and adoptee, ensuring that the adoptee will be looked after, reared, cared for and brought up in conformity with the social morality.

A person may adopt one or several persons as his/her adopted children.

The adopter and the adoptee have the rights and obligations of parents and children as prescribed by this Law.

2. The State and society encourage the adoption of orphaned, abandoned or disabled children.

3. It is strictly forbidden to abuse the child adoption to exploit the labor power, sexually assault or traffick in children or for other self-seeking purposes.

Article 68.- Adoptees

1. Adoptees must be aged fifteen years or younger.

Those aged over fifteen years may be adopted if they are war invalids, disabled people or people who have lost their civil act capacity or if they are adopted by old, lonely people.

2. A person may only be adopted by one person or two persons being husband and wife.

Article 69.- Conditions for adopters

Adopters must fully meet the following conditions:

1. Having full civil act capacity;

2. Being twenty years or more older than their adopted children;

3. Having good ethic qualities;

4. Having actual conditions to ensure the care for, support and education of their adopted children.

5. They must not be people who have certain parental rights toward minor children restricted or who have been sentenced for one of the crimes of deliberately infringing upon the life, health, dignity and honor of another person; ill-treating or persecuting their grandparents, parents, spouses, children, grandchildren and/or fosterers; inciting, forcing juvenile people to commit offenses or harboring juvenile offenders; trafficking in, fraudulently exchanging or abducting children; or the crimes of sexual abuse against children; committing acts of enticing and/or forcing their own children to act against law or social morality, but have not yet enjoyed criminal record remission.

Article 70.- Adoption of children by both the husband and wife

In cases where both husband and wife adopt a child, they must fully meet the conditions prescribed in Article 69 of this Law.

Article 71.- Consent of natural parents, guardians and adoptees

1. The adoption of minor children or adults who have lost their civil act capacity must be consented in writing by such persons’ natural parents; if their natural parents have already died, lost their civil act capacity or cannot be determined, their guardians’ written consents are required.

2. The adoption of children aged full nine years or older must have the consent of such children.

Article 72.- Child adoption registration

Child adoption must be registered with the competent State agencies and inscribed in the Civil Status Register.

The procedures for child adoption registration and hand-over of adopted children shall comply with the provisions of the civil status legislation.

Article 73.- Refusal to register child adoption

Where one party or all parties involved fail to fully meet the conditions for adopting children or being adopted, the child adoption registration offices shall refuse to register and clearly explain the reasons therefor in writing; if natural parents, guardians or adopters disagree, they may lodge complaints according to the law provisions.

Article 74.- Rights and obligations between adoptive parents and adopted children

Adoptive parents and adopted children have the parents’ and children’s rights and obligations prescribed in this Law, as from the time the child adoption is registered.

Children of fallen heroes, war invalids or people with meritorious services to the revolution, who are adopted by other people, shall continue to enjoy all benefits of the children of fallen heroes, war invalids or people with meritorious services to the revolution.

Article 75.- Change of family name, given name; determination of nationalities of adopted children

1. At the request of the adoptive parents, the competent State agencies shall decide the change of the family names and/or given names of their adopted children.

The change of the family names and/or given names of adopted children aged from full nine years or older must have their consents.

The change of the family names and/or given names of adopted children shall comply with the provisions of the civil status legislation.

2. The determination of adopted children’s nationalities shall comply with the provisions in Article 30 of the Civil Code.

Article 76.- Termination of child adoption

At the request of the persons defined in Article 77 of this Law, the Court may decide to terminate the adoption in the following circumstances:

1. Adoptive parents and the adopted children who have attained adulthood voluntarily terminate the adoptive relationship;

2. The adopted children are sentenced for one of the crimes of infringing upon the life, health, dignity and honor of their adoptive fathers and/or mothers; ill-treating, persecuting their adoptive fathers and/or mothers or committing acts of dissipating their adoptive fathers’ and/or mothers’ property;

3. The adoptive parents have committed the acts specified in Clause 3, Article 67 or Clause 5, Article 69 of this Law.

Article 77.- Persons entitled to request the Court to terminate child adoption

1. The adopted children who have attained adulthood, their natural parents or guardians, their adoptive fathers and/or mothers have the right, as prescribed by the civil procedure legislation, to request the Court by themselves or propose the Procuracy to request the Court to decide to terminate the child adoption in the cases specified in Article 76 of this Law.

2. The Procuracy has the right, as prescribed by the civil procedure legislation, to request the Court to decide to terminate the child adoption in the cases specified at Points 2 and 3, Article 76 of this Law.

3. The following agencies and organizations have the right, as prescribed the civil procedure legislation, to request the Court by themselves or propose the Procuracy to request the Court to decide to terminate the child adoption in the cases specified at Points 2 and 3, Article 76 of this Law:

a/ The child protection and care committees;

b/ The women’s unions.

4. Other individuals, agencies and organizations have the right to propose the Procuracy to consider and request the Court to decide to terminate the child adoption in the cases specified at Points 2 and 3, Article 76 of this Law:

Article 78.- Legal consequences of the termination of child adoption

1. When the child adoption is terminated by decision of the Court, the rights and obligations between adoptive parents and adopted children shall also terminate; if the adopted children are minors or adults who are disabled, have lost their civil act capacity, have no working capacity and no property to support themselves, the Court shall issue decisions to assign such persons to their natural parents or other individuals or organizations for care and support.

2. Where adopted children have personal property they are entitled to receive back such property; if adopted children contributed labor and efforts to the common property of their adoptive parents’ families, they are entitled to receive part of such common property according the agreement between the adopted children and their adoptive parents; if they fail to reach an agreement thereon, they may request the Court to settle it.

3. Where the child adoption terminates, at the request of the former adopted children or their natural parents, the competent State agencies shall decide on the former adopted children’s reclaiming their family names, and/or names given by their natural parents.