Iran: Whether it is possible to adopt a child in Iran and, if so, the requirements and procedures involved; the rights to custody of the biological parent(s) after a court has granted the adoption; the requirements and procedures for declaring biological parent(s) unfit; where the child(ren) would live during the proceedings

No information on the rights to custody of the biological parent(s) after a court has granted the adoption could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Several sources refer to the adoption of children in Iran (The Washington Post 9 Aug. 1998; AFP 28 Oct. 1998; U.S. State Department n.d.).

The U.S. State Department reports that:

In accordance with current Iranian practice, adoptions by parents residing outside of Iran are possible provided the adoptive parents are Iranian citizens and fulfill all the other required conditions for adoption. Applications from close family members have the greatest chance of being approved.

Only the Iranian Welfare Organization and the appropriate court can decide each case on its own merits in the best interest of the child. Muslim children will be given exclusively to Muslim parents. Children of Christian faiths may be adopted by Christian parents.

Before an adoption can take place, strict rules are applied in order to protect the children and to establish the suitability of prospective adoptive parents. The process is complicated and time-consuming. After a child has been placed with a family, surveillance by Iranian authorities continues and periodic checks are made to ensure the child's physical and mental well-being.

Iranians living abroad can file adoption applications through relatives living in Iran. Applications must be submitted to the Iranian Welfare Organization.

While not referring directly to adoption, nor to any particular country, Zahraa and Malek outline the conditions of custodianship under Islamic Law: "legal capacity, trustworthiness, ability to bring up the child, Muslim, residence, and marriage restrictions" (1998, 168). For further information on these conditions please consult the attached pages.

In October 1998 Iran's welfare agency stated that retired couples in Iran would be allowed to adopt the country's estimated 3,000 abandoned children (AFP 28 Oct. 1998). A representative of the agency was reported to have said that "all of the 3,000 children currently under the organisation's care will be placed with qualified couples in an effort to provide 'family life to all abandoned children by the year 2004" (ibid.). At that time "the welfare agency [was] building an apartment complex in the holy city of Qom to provide free housing for 'qualified foster parents who do not own a place'" (ibid.).

According to the Civil Code of Iran

Article 1173 – Where the physical health or moral upbringing of the child is endangered by lack of care or moral degradation of the father or the mother who is custodian, the court may, on the request of the child's relatives, his or her guardian or the Public Prosecutor, take whatever decision appropriate for the child's custody (1995, 171)

For further information on "the natural guardianship of the father and paternal grandfather," including an inability to minister to the needs of minors; the "obligation of maintenance" within a family, including children;  "legal incapacity and guardianship," including "general rules," "the appointment of legal guardians and its procedure," "the powers, duties and responsibilities of the guardian and the limits thereof; superintendence of the public prosecutor over the affairs of minors, the lunatics and persons lacking discernment," and "the circumstances of dismissal of the guardian," please consult Articles 1180 to 1256 of The Civil Code of Iran, available in the Headquarters Resource Centre.(1995).

For general information on custody and guardianship of children in Islamic law, including conditions of custodianship, please see the attached article by Mahdi Zahraa and Normi A. Maleh (1998).

For information on custody and guardianship in Iran please consult IRN29461.E of 29 June 1998, and IRN24612.E of 15 July 1996. For general information on custody and guardianship of children in Islamic law please consult the article by Zahraa and Maleh in the 1998, Part 2 issue of Arab Law Quarterly that is available in the Headquarters Resource Centre.

For information on challenges to the custody of children please consult IRN30978.E of 18 January 1999, IRN29465.E of 5 June 1998, IRN28300.E of 1 December 1997, and IRN24612.E of 15 July 1996.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 28 October 1998. "Iranian Senior Citizens to be Given Right to Adopt Abandoned Chidren." (NEXIS)

The Civil Code of Iran. 1995. Translation from Persian by M.A.R. Taleghany. (Littleton, CO: Rothman & Co.)

The Washington Post. 9 August 1999. "Letters to the Editor: William Pierce, President, National Council for Adoption, Washington." (NEXIS)

Zahraa, Mahdi and Maleh, Normi A. 1998. Vol. 13, Part 2. Arab Law Quarterly. "The Concept of Custody in Islamic Law." pp. 168-175.

Additional Sources Consulted

Arab Law Quarterly. 1993 - 1998.

IRB databases

LEXIS-NEXIS

REFWORLD

World News Connection (WNC)

Unsuccessful attempts to contact three non-documentary sources