Albanian authorities take more than one year to find a family to
abandoned babies and to give a recognition court verdict to parents.
The current Family Code leaves three months to orphanages to find the biological mother of the baby, and only then he is declared abandoned by the judiciary. After this, a married couple or a single person may address to the Albanian Committee of Adoption with the request. They undergo verifying sessions for two months, going to psychologists and social workers. For the United States Ambassador to Tirana, Alexander Arvizu, the interest groups must coordinate the procedures so that everything works properly.
“With property issues there are external factors that might delay a verdict or decision. But with adoption there are more bureaucratic obstacles. For this reason we would want to hear more about your needs. If there is an overload of cases in Courts, then we can talk with the High Council of Justice. We would like to hear recommendations for what we can help”, declared the United States ambassador.
Judge Brunilda Kasmi is one of the nine judges who decide in the family section every time that a baby is declared abandoned and when a couple receives the adoption rights. She answered to the ambassador by listing the problems that cause the delays.
“The first problem is related to the fact that the biological mother doesn’t declare the accurate address. In some cases we find the addresses, but they are short. I don’t think that you can be considered a decent judge one who only announces the mother after finding the address. Orphanages need a legal representative. All representatives that we receive do not belong to this sector and this creates difficulties in the representation in court”, Kasmi declared.
There are 33 persons in Albania who have adopted children although they are single.
“1500 children have been adopted so far, since the creation of the Committee. The Albanian Committee of Adoptions has 42 requests from Albanian couples who are waiting to adopt a child, and more than 100 requests of foreign couples”, says Genci Terpo, Chairman of the Albanian committee of adoption.
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