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A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – Article 21 – Adoption

A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – Article 21 – Adoption 344 Book Reviews / International Journal of Children’s Rights 17 (2009) 343–344 Sylvain Vité and Hervé Boéchat, A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – Article 21 – Adoption. Leiden/Boston: Martinus Nijhoff , 2008. xv + 62 pp. ISBN-13: 978 90 04 14874 1. ISBN-10: 90 04 14874 4. € 66.00 / US$ 92.00. Th is monograph is the latest of (so far as this reviewer is concerned, a little known) series sponsored by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Offi ce providing detailed commentaries on individual articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. Th is particular work is devoted to Article 21 on Adoption. Th e book begins by providing a brief overall background to adoption in general and more specifi c historical background to Article 21 itself. It also refers to the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption which the authors consider in many respects to be ‘an implementing instrument of the UN Convention’. Chapter 2, which examines related international instruments, provides a useful compilation of those emanating from the UN (in particular the 1986 Declaration on Social and Legal Principles relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, with special reference to Foster Placement and Adoption Nationally and Inter- nationally 1986) and regional instruments such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the American and European Conventions on Human Rights. Th e chapter ends with references to International Private Law and in particular to the consequential problems of having to cope with the sepa- rate concepts of simple and full adoptions. Th e kernel of the book, however, lies in Chapter 3 which provides an in-depth, line-by-line analysis of Article 21 covering broadly: its scope, the best interests of the child, the permissibility of adoption and intercountry adoption (including non-discrimination and improper gains). Th e chapter concludes with a section on bilateral and multilateral arrangements. Discussion under each of these sec- tions puts the issue in its historical context and, accepting that the work’s princi- pal concern is with principle rather than practice, is well written and widely referenced. Chapter 4 provides a very short, though optimistic conclusion and fi nally there is a useful, if brief, bibliography. Overall this is a valuable, well written and well structured work and, as such, is an indispensable addition to the intercountry adoption library. Moreover, the book has also whetted this reviewer’s appetite to seek out the other monographs in the series. N.V. Lowe Cardiff Law School © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2009 DOI 10.1163/157181809X423588 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The International Journal of Children's Rights Brill

A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – Article 21 – Adoption

Lowe
The International Journal of Children's Rights , Volume 17 (2): 344 – Jan 1, 2009
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2009 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0927-5568
eISSN
1571-8182
DOI
10.1163/157181809X423588
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

344 Book Reviews / International Journal of Children’s Rights 17 (2009) 343–344 Sylvain Vité and Hervé Boéchat, A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – Article 21 – Adoption. Leiden/Boston: Martinus Nijhoff , 2008. xv + 62 pp. ISBN-13: 978 90 04 14874 1. ISBN-10: 90 04 14874 4. € 66.00 / US$ 92.00. Th is monograph is the latest of (so far as this reviewer is concerned, a little known) series sponsored by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Offi ce providing detailed commentaries on individual articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. Th is particular work is devoted to Article 21 on Adoption. Th e book begins by providing a brief overall background to adoption in general and more specifi c historical background to Article 21 itself. It also refers to the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption which the authors consider in many respects to be ‘an implementing instrument of the UN Convention’. Chapter 2, which examines related international instruments, provides a useful compilation of those emanating from the UN (in particular the 1986 Declaration on Social and Legal Principles relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, with special reference to Foster Placement and Adoption Nationally and Inter- nationally 1986) and regional instruments such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the American and European Conventions on Human Rights. Th e chapter ends with references to International Private Law and in particular to the consequential problems of having to cope with the sepa- rate concepts of simple and full adoptions. Th e kernel of the book, however, lies in Chapter 3 which provides an in-depth, line-by-line analysis of Article 21 covering broadly: its scope, the best interests of the child, the permissibility of adoption and intercountry adoption (including non-discrimination and improper gains). Th e chapter concludes with a section on bilateral and multilateral arrangements. Discussion under each of these sec- tions puts the issue in its historical context and, accepting that the work’s princi- pal concern is with principle rather than practice, is well written and widely referenced. Chapter 4 provides a very short, though optimistic conclusion and fi nally there is a useful, if brief, bibliography. Overall this is a valuable, well written and well structured work and, as such, is an indispensable addition to the intercountry adoption library. Moreover, the book has also whetted this reviewer’s appetite to seek out the other monographs in the series. N.V. Lowe Cardiff Law School © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2009 DOI 10.1163/157181809X423588

Journal

The International Journal of Children's Rights – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2009

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