I. LEGISLATION
Articles 5-9, 12-14, 16 and 18-21
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31. Children's rights freely to express their views are laid down in the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, on the basis of the general principles of the fundamental human rights and rights of the citizen. The Rights of the Child Act provides that a child's views, beliefs and opinion merit attention commensurate with its age and maturity. The free expression by children of their views is also guaranteed by the Marriage and Family Code. In particular, the family name of a child aged 10 or more may not be changed without the child's consent, and 10-year-old children may not be adopted without their consent unless they lived in the adopter's household before the application for adoption was made and consider the adopter to be their parent. Under the Citizenship Act, the citizenship of children aged between 14 and 18 may not be changed without their consent. The Code of Criminal Procedure provides that children aged 14 or more have the right personally to participate in court hearings and to express their views.
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42. Children are normally cared for and brought up within their families, but it can happen that a child is deprived of parental care or that it becomes preferable, in the child's own interest, for it to live apart from its parents. The law requires the State child-care authorities to ensure the care and upbringing of children deprived of parental care; this can be done through adoption or by placing the child in an appropriate children's institution. Among such institutions are children's homes and boarding schools.
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47. The procedure for adoptions is laid down in the Marriage and Family Code. Only minors may be adopted; the adoption must be in their interest and the consent of the local executive organs is required. Children aged 10 or more may only be adopted with their consent, the only exception being when the child lived with the adopters prior to the making of the adoption application and considers them its parents. Adult citizens of either sex may become adoptive parents, but persons who have been deprived by court order of parental rights or who are legally recognized as disabled or partially disabled may not.
48. A child who has parents may not be adopted without their written consent. Parents may consent to the adoption of their child with a specific person in mind as the adopter or may leave the choice of the adopter to the guardianship and curatorship authorities. Parents may withdraw their consent to adoption up until such time as the decision on adoption is taken. The parents' consent to adoption is not required if they have been deprived of their parental rights or are disabled or recognized as having gone missing without trace. Adoption may also take place without the parents' consent if they have been living apart from the child for more than a year and, despite having been warned by the guardianship and curatorship authorities, are evading their obligations regarding upbringing and care and show no interest in, or concern for the child. For the adoption of a child by one, not both of the partners to a marriage, the written consent of the other spouse is required. Such consent is not required if the other spouse is legally recognized as disabled or if the spouses have ceased marital relations or have been living apart from each other for more than a year or if the whereabouts of the other spouse are unknown. By the act of adoption, adopters and adoptees acquire the rights and obligations legally recognized to parents and children and adoptees and their descendants become equal to blood relatives in terms of their personal rights and property rights and their obligations towards the adopters and their kin. The confidentiality of adoption is guaranteed by law.
49. The Criminal Code provides that persons who divulge adoptions without the adopters' consent will be held liable for their action. Armenian law also provides that an adoption may be terminated or recognized as invalid if it was effected in breach of the legal requirements or without concern for the child's interest. The invalidity or termination of an adoption may only be pronounced by a court. This may be done upon suit from the parents or the adopter's spouse if the adoption took place without their consent and the court finds that return of the child to its parents would be in its interest. An adoption may also be terminated upon request from a guardianship and curatorship authority or a public prosecutor if the request is motivated by the child's interest. Before termination or declaring invalid the adoption of a child aged 10 or more, the court must ascertain the child's opinion on the matter. Terminating an adoption or declaring it invalid restores the reciprocal rights and obligations of the child and its parents and relatives and puts an end to the reciprocal rights and obligations of the child and the adopter and the latter's relatives.
50. Questions of a child's citizenship at the time of adoption are regulated by the Citizenship Act. A child who is adopted by citizens of the Republic of Armenia acquires Armenian citizenship. If one member of a married couple that adopts a child is stateless and the other is an Armenian citizen, the child acquires Armenian citizenship. If one member of a married couple that adopts a child is an Armenian citizen and the other is a citizen of another State, the child will be given Armenian citizenship if it lives in Armenia and both the adoptive parents agree. A child is a stateless person or, if it does not acquire Armenian citizenship, becomes a stateless person. The Citizenship Act also regulates the question of the citizenship of Armenian children who are adopted by foreigners. A child with Armenian citizenship who is adopted by citizens of another State or by a married couple one member of which is an Armenian citizen and the other a citizen of another State remains an Armenian citizen. In such instances, the child may change its citizenship only upon application from the adopter.
51. A child with Armenian citizenship who is adopted by stateless persons or by a married couple one member of which is stateless and the other an Armenian citizen keeps its Armenian citizenship. Armenian child law allows children who have been left without parental care to be adopted with a view to their removal to another State when they cannot be treated or cured. The Government has established a special procedure for the adoption of children who are Armenian citizens by citizens of other States.