Intermediation and accredited bodies in international adoptions. Reflections derived from the new Regulation on international adoption

Abstract

The Royal Decree 165/2019 approving the new Regulation on International Adoption entered into force in July 2019. This new instrument develops in our system certain aspects of the Law 54/2007 on International Adoption related to the task of intermediation carried out in this field by the so-called “accredited bodies”. In most of these aspects, the Regulation has confirmed that the Spanish model has been directed since 2015 towards greater centralization, having transferred to the Central Administration a number of competences previously developed by the autonomous communities. This paper will focus on how this new system has been concretized, as well as on the consequences derived from it, both for the accredited bodies themselves and for the families who wish to adopt a child abroad.