The Parliament on Thursday, June 12, passed the draft law on adoption in first reading, introducing new requirements in the adoption procedure, Info-Prim Neo reports. Deputy Health Minister Mircea Buga has said a new, stronger law is needed in order to close yawning legal gaps. Today the existing laws do not strike a clear balance between the powers of the central and local custodial authorities, which leads to an unwarranted centralization. Unclear is also the moment when a child left without parental custody may be declared adoptable. The current laws do not provide for preparing the general population to mentally accept adoption, nor they establish a mechanism for matching children with their prospective adopters, which leads to a contradictory interpretation of the legislation and violates the right of the child to a safe and permanent family. The supreme principles set out by the new law include the obligation to observe the rights and liberties of the child; respect for the child's opinion; reintegration into the biological or extended family; the priority of family placement over institutionalization; the priority of domestic adoption over international adoption; swiftness and confidentiality of the adoption process. According to the bill, adoptable may be the children of up to 18 years of age. All the measures shall be taken to have brothers and sisters adopted by the same family. The adopters shall have full legal capacity, shall have reached the age of 25 and be at least 18 years older than the adopted child. Those who have reached the age of 55 years may not adopt, with certain exceptions. The adoption request and the required documentation shall be submitted to the custodial authority whose jurisdiction spreads over the domicile of the adopters. A special commission will consider whether the material circumstances of the adopter meet the proper conditions for the child to develop. Another requirement is the written consent of the biological or custodial parents, of the adopters and of the children who have reached the age of 10. In the process of matching children with their potential adopters, priority will be given to relatives, custodians, and those whose domicile is relatively close to the domicile of the child. At the expiry of the matching process, the custodial authority shall pronounce a decision on the reasonableness of the adoption. A court will then issue the final verdict. International adoption is allowed only in the following cases: stepparent adoption; the adopter is an up to fourth-degree relative of the child, and preferably a Moldovan citizen settled abroad; the child has been unable to enjoy domestic adoption and suffers from a serious disease. Moldova's diplomatic and consular missions shall keep record of the Moldovan children adopted in foreign countries and will disseminate information on Moldova's adoption requirements to those concerned.