Section 3, The Adoption Act, 1989 Short title

(1) An adoption order shall not be made unless theapplicant or, in case of a joint application, one of the applicants- (a) has attained the age of twenty-five and is at least twenty one years older than the juvenile; or "juvenile" means a person who is under the age of seventeen years; No.9 Adoption (b) has attained the age of twenty-one and is a relative of the juvenile, or (c) is the mother or father of the juvenile. (2) An adoption order shall not be made in favour of a sole applicant who is a male unless the juvenile is a son of the applicant or the Court is satisfied that there are special circumstances which justify an exceptional measure the making of an adoption order in such a case. (3) Except as provided by Section 2, an adoption order shall not be made authorising more than one person to adopt a juvenile. . (4) An adoption order shall not be made in respect of a juvenile unless- (a) the applicant and the juvenile reside in Sierra Leone; and . ( b) the juvenile has been, continuously in the care and possession of the applicant for at least six consecutive months immediately preceding the date of the order; and (c) the applicant has at least six months before the application for the adoption order notified the Chief Social Development Officer of his intention to apply for an adoption order.