11. What are the conditions to be fulfilled by the person or family (two spouses) willing to adopt?
According to article 5, paragraph 2 of the Ordinance of the Executive no.25/1997, the following conditions are to be fulfilled:
a)the person or family willing to adopt must have full capacity of expressing their will. This condition is to be inferred also from the provision requesting the consent which, must be expressed by a person with full capacity of expressing it, in order to be valid.
b) the difference of age between the adopter and the adoptee must be of at least 18 years. This condition is justified by the fact that the difference of age between the adopter and the adoptee must be similar to the usual difference of age between the biological parents and the child.
According to article 5, paragraph 2 of the Ordinance of the Executive no.25/1997: "for well-grounded reasons, the Court may approve the adoption even if the difference of age is less than 18 years" (ex. in the case when the adopter raised the adoptee; in the case when a married woman under 18 of age is willing to adopt a child, together with her husband).
The person having full capacity to manifest its will may adopt regardless of gender, nationality, race or religion.
The adopter may be married or single and may or may not have another child.
Adriana Paraschiv

12. Is there a maximal age limit for the adopter?
Usually, the maximal age of the adopter is not limited and may not constitute grounds for a negative decision of the Court regarding the conclusion of the adoption, except for special cases, that is when the purpose of the act of adoption cannot be served.
Adriana Paraschiv

13. Which is the maximal age up to which a child can be adopted?
According to article 2, paragraph 1 of the Ordinance of the Executive no.25/1997: "the child can be adopted up to the point when he/she is considered legally capable to express his/her manifest will ".
Usually, the above-mentioned capacity is gained at the age of 18, when the person becomes legally of age or, in the case of a woman, through marriage, that is at 16 or 15 years of age. The minimal age for marriage is of 18 years, in the case of men, and 16 years, in the case of women; a woman may marry at 15 if she has the legal approval of the parents. The capacity of manifesting will gained through marriage is maintained even if the marriage ends through a divorce or through the death of the husband.
Therefore, if the other conditions requested are fulfilled, the adoptees can be: the men under 18 of age, the unmarried women under 18 of age, as well as the underage women till the date of their marriage.
The condition of the lack of capacity of manifesting will is justified by the purpose and meaning of the act of adoption.
There is, however, an exception to the above mentioned rule. It is specified by article 2, paragraph 2 of the Ordinance of the Executive no.25/1997 , in the sense that the person who gained full legal capacity of manifesting will may be adopted only by the person or family who raised him/her.
By "raising" in what concerns the legal vocabulary of adoption issues one must understand not only material support during the period when the child is under age, but also the existence of relations between the adopter and the adoptee similar to those existent between the biological parent and the child. In order to exclude from the start the case of occasional care, the adopter must have raised the child over a continuous and extensive enough period of time.
Adriana Paraschiv

14. Which are the competent special bodies regulating adoption issues?
The most important bodies having legal prerogatives in matters of adoption and which supervise the legal and valid conclusion of any adoption are:
- The Specialized Public Service for Child Protection
- The Commission for Child Protection
- The Romanian Committee on Adoptions together with a series of authorized private organizations.
Adriana Paraschiv

15. Which are the prerogatives the Commission for Child Protection can exert in order for the adoption to be considered valid?
First of all, the Commission for Child Protection must verify and certify the existence of material conditions and moral guarantees offered by the potential adopters, conditions and guarantees necessary for a healthy upbringing of the child to be adopted. If these conditions and guarantees exist, the Commission issues a certificate according to which the person or family may adopt. (article 6, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Ordinance of the Executive no.25/1997).
According to article 9, paragraph 9 of the Ordinance of the Executive no.25/1997, the Commission may entrust the child in view of the adoption, to the person or family that received the certificate. At the end of the period throughout which the child was entrusted to the person or family, the Commission for Child Protection decides upon issuing the positive recommendation; the issuing of this recommendation legally expands the period of the entrusting, up to the approval or the rejection of the adoption request by the competent Court (article 9, paragraph 6 of the Ordinance of the Executive no.25/1997).
Adriana Paraschiv

16. Under what conditions and within what time-span is the certificate for entrusting the child to the person or family willing to adopt issued by the Commission for Child Protection?
The necessary certificate is issued upon the request of the person or family willing to adopt. It is issued within 90 days from the registration of the request, on the grounds of the reports and recommendations of the specialized public service for Child Protection from the county or from a district of Bucharest, or of a private authorized body. (article 6, paragraph 3 of the Ordinance of the Executive no.25/1997).
The Commission may issue the certificate only if the above-mentioned reports certify that the person or family willing to adopt presents the moral guarantees and material conditions necessary for a healthy upbringing of the child.
Adriana Paraschiv

17. Is adoption always preceded by the entrusting of the child to the potential adopter?
The rule is that the adoption is concluded after the entrusting of the child to the potential adopter. In the case when the entrusting of the child has been decided, the file must contain a copy of the original decision of entrusting (article 14, paragraph of the Ordinance of the Executive no.25/1997).
However, there are cases in which the adoption can be concluded without the preliminary entrusting of the child, that is:
a) when the entrusting was not possible;
b) when one of the spouses adopts the child of the other spouse;
c) the person or family willing to adopt raised the potential adoptee;
d) the adopters are related, up to the 4th degree inclusively, to one of the biological parents of the child.
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