The Politics of Adoption

Kerry O’Halloran is a lawyer, social worker and academic who has spent most of his professional life engaged with this subject. The Politics of Adoption is the product of rigorous research, validated by academics in the countries concerned and is written in an accessible manner to appeal not only to academics and practitioners but also to the many whose lives have been touched by adoption.

Introduction. Part One: Adoption, Society and the Law: the Common Law Context. 1. Adoption: Concept, Principles and Social Construct. 2. The Changing Face of Adoption in the United Kingdom. Part Two: Developing International Benchmarks for Modern Adoption Law. 3. The Legal Functions of Adoption. 4. Adoption, the Conventions and the Impact of the European Court of Human Rights. 5. Intercountry Adoption and the Hague Convention. Part Three: Contemporary Law, Policy and Practice in a Common Law Context. 6. The Adoption Process in England & Wales. 7. The Adoption Process in Ireland. 8. The Adoption Process in the US. 9. The Adoption Process in Australia. Part Four: Contemporary Law, Policy and Practice in a European Civil Law Context. 10. The Adoption Process in Sweden. 11. The Adoption Process in France. Part Five: Contemporary Law, Policy and Practice in Asia. Chap 12. The Adoption Process in Islam. 13. The Adoption Process in Japan. Part Six: Contemporary Law, Policy and Practice in an Indigenous Peoples Context. 14. Intraculture Adoption. Conclusions.