Case Number

CA 7155/96

Date Decided

4-17-1997

Decision Type

Appellate

Document Type

Full Opinion

Abstract

Facts: Appellant requested to adopt a young man of 26 years, whom he had raised since infancy, after marrying the young man's biological mother. The potential adoptee, as well as the Israel Children Society, supported the appellant's request. The district court, however, denied the adoption order. The district court held that the requirements of section 25(1) of the Children Adoption Law, which allowed for the adoption of adults under special circumstances, were not fulfilled. The district court also held that the requirements of sections 8(a) and 13 of the law, which required the consent of the biological parents to adoption or, alternatively, that the child be declared by the court as fit for adoption, were not fulfilled.

Held: The Court held that appellant could adopt the young man. The court noted that the Children Adoption law was not intended to serve as an everyday mechanism for the adoption of adults. Even so, the law provided for the possibility of adult adoption under special circumstances. As per the provisions of the law, as they should be interpreted in light of the general approach of Israeli law, the Court held that the adoption of an adult should be allowed as long as it does not injure any protected interests. As such, a court should see the “special circumstances” requirement of section 25(1) of the law as fulfilled when adoption reflects the critical needs of the participants in the process, or gives legal expression to an existing parent-child relationship. Looking to the facts of the case, the Court held that a parent-child relationship obviously existed between appellant and the potential adoptee. As such, the Court held that the lower court should grant the biological father an opportunity to present his objections to the adoption. If the court did not see any substance in these objections, the Court held that the lower court could declare the potential adoptee as fit for adoption, and then proceed to grant the adoption order.

Keywords

Family Law -- Adoption, Family -- Parenthood, Family Law -- Paternity

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