Armenia: Meeting with Armenian Central Authority and Clarification of Armenian Law on Restoration of Birth Parent Rights

The Office of Children’s Issues (CI) met recently with the Armenian Central Authority (ACA) to discuss the future of intercountry adoption between the United States and Armenia, including a recent situation in which an Armenian court restored a birth parent’s rights after the children were matched with a U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parent. The Office of Children’s Issues recognizes the Armenian court’s authority and supports its implementation of the Convention’s subsidiarity principle when it is in the best interests of children. The purpose of the meeting was to seek a full understanding of Armenian laws and procedures to make sure U.S. adoption service providers (ASPs) and U.S. prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) are fully informed of the process.

The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia is responsible for matching and providing prospective adoptive families with a referral for an Armenian child. However, prospective adoptive parents should consider any referral for an Armenian child to be preliminary until the adoption is finalized. As stated by ACA and in accordance with the Family Code of the Republic of Armenia, a birth parent can seek restoration of their parental rights at any point during the adoption process until an adoption decision is finalized in court. If the adoption is finalized, a birth parent may exercise their right to appeal the decision within a 30-day period. However, the judge can, at their discretion, apply an exception to waive the 30-day appeal process to expedite the final adoption decision in the best interests of a child. If the birth parent’s rights are restored while the adoption process is still ongoing, PAPs also have 30 days to appeal the court’s decision.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia oversees restoration of parental rights and is responsible for sharing the information with ACA, which in turn shares it with the foreign supervised provider working on behalf of the ASP. Since ACA is not directly involved in the process, there can be a delay with sharing the information about the court’s decision with the prospective adoptive parents. Therefore, foreign supervised providers and adoption service providers are responsible for monitoring the case closely during the entire adoption process to make sure prospective adoptive parents receive updates in a timely manner.

Please note this information is not intended to discourage families from adopting from Armenia. We want prospective adoptive families to understand what may occur given recent cases from Armenia. Prospective adoptive parents who have additional questions, should consult with their ASP.

Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information on intercountry adoption in Armenia.