On October 7, during a briefing at the Public Affairs Agency, the Head of the Press Service of the Supreme Court, Aziz Obidov, provided information about the procedures to be followed in Uzbekistan regarding child adoption here.
According to his explanation, in Uzbekistan, the authority to make decisions on adoption is granted to the courts. These matters are considered relying on the Civil Procedure Code and the resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court. Adoptions are reviewed by the court in the presence of the adopter, representatives of guardianship and trusteeship bodies, as well as the prosecutor. If necessary, the court may involve the parents of the child being adopted, their relatives, and other interested parties, as well as the child themselves if they have reached the age of ten. This category of cases, including the annulment of adoption and rulings of falsification, are also considered in a closed court session.
It has been reported that in the first half of 2024, courts dealing with civil matters reviewed 2701 cases related to child adoption. Out of these, 2543 petitions were granted. The total number of children adopted according to these petitions is not available. Throughout 2023, 5359 such cases were reviewed and completed, with 5011 petitions satisfied.
According to Aziz Obidov, the following persons cannot be adopters:
- those deprived of parental rights or whose parental rights have been restricted;
- those declared incapacitated or limited in capacity to act in accordance with the law;
- those registered with psychiatric or narcological medical institutions;
- if the age difference between the adopter and the adoptee is less than fifteen years (exceptions are made for stepfather and stepmother adoptions).
He also spoke about how a foreign citizen or a stateless person can adopt a child who is a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
According to his words, in such cases, the court considers not only the legislation of the petitioner’s country but also takes into account the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as international treaties of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
"For instance, if a citizen of Uzbekistan wants to adopt a child who is a citizen of another country, in addition to the main documents, the consent of the competent authority of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the child's permanent residency in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the consent of the child’s legal representative and the competent authority of the country the child is a citizen of are required", stated the Head of the Press Service of the Supreme Court.
The court can be approached with a claim to declare an adoption invalid or to annul an adoption by the adopted person's parents, the prosecutor, guardianship and trusteeship bodies, commissions on children's affairs, as well as the adopted child once they reach the age of sixteen.
