Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

118F.   EVIDENCE OF CONSENT OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN

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    (1)   If a person whose consent to the making of an adoption order under section 118D(4)(a) does not attend the proceedings for the purpose of giving it, subject to subsection (3) a document signifying his or her consent to the making of the order shall, if the person in whose favour the order is to be made is named in the document or where the identity of that person is not known to the consenting party is distinguished therein in a manner satisfactory to the Court, be admissible as evidence of that consent, whether the document is executed before or after the commencement of the proceedings.

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    (2)   If a document under subsection (1) is attested by a magistrate, notary royal or a justice of the peace or, if executed outside Saint Lucia, by a judge or registrar of a court of record, a magistrate, a commissioner for oaths, a notary public or a British diplomatic or consular official, the document is admissible without further proof of the signature of the person by whom it is executed; and for the purposes of this subsection, a document purporting to be attested is deemed to be so attested, and to be executed and attested on the date and at the place specified in the document, unless the contrary is proved.

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    (3)   A document signifying the consent of the mother of an infant is not admissible under this section unless —

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      (a)     the infant is at least six weeks old on the date of the execution of the document; and

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      (b)     the document is attested on that date by a magistrate, notary royal or a justice of the peace, or if executed outside Saint Lucia, by a judge or registrar of a court of record, a magistrate, a commissioner for oaths, a notary public, or a British diplomatic or consular official.

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    (4)   For the purposes of this section, a document signifying a person's consent to the making of an adoption order must include a licence issued abroad by virtue of which an infant is brought into Saint Lucia for adoption.

(Inserted by Act 20 of 2019)