15 years of effectiveness in implementing the Law on Adoption

After 15 years of implementing the Adoption Law No. 52/2010/QH12, Son La province has made efforts to bring this humane policy into life, contributing to protecting rights and creating warm families for children...

Since the Law on Adoption was promulgated, the Provincial People's Committee has issued implementation plans, such as: Plan No. 47/KH-UBND implementing the Law on Adoption; Plan No. 02/KH-UBND on actual adoption registration; Plan No. 140/KH-UBND implementing amended and supplemented decrees... promptly creating a solid legal corridor for implementation at all levels and sectors.

Children have the right to education.

In addition, the province has built and effectively operated an inter-sectoral coordination mechanism, especially in the field of adoption involving foreign elements, which is complex and sensitive. The Department of Justice, the Department of Health and the Provincial Police are assigned to coordinate to ensure that the verification of children's origins, assessment of the conditions of adoptive families and related procedures are carried out strictly and transparently, preventing the risk of exploiting adoption for personal gain.

The work of propagandizing, disseminating and educating the law (PBGDPL) is considered the root solution. Every year, the Provincial People's Committee issues a plan for disseminating the law, directing the Council for Disseminating the law at all levels to include the content of the Law on Adoption in the core propaganda program. The forms of propaganda are diverse, suitable for each subject and locality, such as: Integrating in legal aid sessions in poor communes, remote areas, border areas; compiling and distributing free documents, outlines, legal brochures, professional instruction leaflets; organizing conferences to disseminate information to officers and soldiers in the police force with thousands of participants.

At the same time, the work of training and improving the capacity of civil servants directly working in the field is also emphasized. From 2011 to present, the Department of Justice has organized 11 professional training courses for nearly 2,000 judicial and civil status officials at the commune level. The training content focuses on procedures, settlement records, and the use of forms and books. Inspection and examination activities are also maintained regularly with 24 direct inspections at the People's Committees at the district and commune levels from January 1, 2011 to September 30, 2025. Remarkable results: in 15 years of implementing the Law on Adoption, Son La province has had no complaints or denunciations and no administrative violations in the field of adoption have been handled.

Children have the right to play and develop physically.

Over the past 15 years, the adoption registration work in Son La has gradually become routine, overcoming the habit of handling according to old customs, ensuring legality and benefits for all parties. Regarding domestic adoption, the whole province has registered 1,467 cases. The cases were carried out in accordance with the correct procedures, ensuring humanitarian purposes, helping children to be raised, cared for and educated in a family environment. In the field of adoption involving foreign elements, the whole province has only resolved 1 case of a 17-year-old female child, in normal health and adopted by her nephew. This number, although small, reflects the locality's strict adherence to the principle of prioritizing finding domestic replacement families for children according to the provisions of the Adoption Law and the Hague Convention.

In addition to the achieved results, the implementation of the Law on Adoption still has difficulties and obstacles that require solutions from the central and local levels. For example, Article 14 of the Law stipulates that the adoptive parent must "have economic conditions", but there is no document providing specific instructions on what "has conditions". In addition, Criminal Record Form No. 1 does not clearly state the criminal record, making it difficult for civil servants to determine whether the adoptive parent is in a prohibited case or not. In addition, when biological parents give up their child and then leave a fake address, it makes it impossible to obtain consent according to the law. Notably, current law only stipulates "termination of adoption" but does not have regulations on the order and procedures for "cancelling" the decision for cases that violate the process from the beginning...

To improve the institution, the province has proposed to the Ministry of Justice to preside over research to amend and supplement the Law on Adoption, ensuring consistency with new laws such as the Law on Children. It is necessary to institutionalize policies on alternative care, and add regulations on "cancellation of adoption". For border areas, it is necessary to study separate, simpler procedures and reduce registration fees to encourage people.

After 15 years of implementing the Law on Adoption, Son La province has effectively implemented the provisions of the Law. However, this is a complex field, requiring continuous improvement in both legal policies and implementation, contributing to building a legal system on adoption that is increasingly humane, effective and truly in the best interests of Vietnamese children.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/xa-hoi/hieu-qua-15-nam-thi-hanh-luat-nuoi-con-nuoi-xKcmJT3Hg.html