Substantive Conditions of Adoption Regarding the Adopting Person or Family

This article analyzes the substantive conditions imposed by the Romanian legislator on persons wishing to adopt, the legal circumstances considered to be essential and indispensable for a person or a family to be able to adopt. From a historical point of view, the adoption has been permanently subject to conditions, imposed by the interests of the child without parental protection, of the state or of a logic common sense. The existence of conditions regarding the situation, attributes or aptitudes of the adopter does not contradict the general principle of non-discrimination, recognized and guaranteed by both national and international law. The regulation of restrictions on the possibility of adoption does not amount to discrimination against any citizen, as long as such restrictions or conditions are motivated by interests of a higher order than private ones and apply to all persons in a certain situation. Adoption is a complex social phenomenon due to the emotional implications on those involved in this process.