The Attorney General has asked the Law Reform Commission to examine the legal and constitutional position of children adopted by Irish couples in other countries under foreign adoption law, The Irish Times has learned.
This will not have any bearing on the status of children adopted from abroad in Ireland under Irish law, who have the same status as children born and adopted here.
The reference to the Law Reform Commission is not directly related to the Tristan Dowse case - where a child adopted in Indonesia by an Irish man and his wife was later handed back to the orphanage. However, the case raised a number of legal issues which are likely to be looked at by the commission.
Last August, the Attorney General began legal proceedings in the High Court to force the adoptive parents to take responsibility for the then three-year-old boy.
A reference by the Attorney General of a matter to the Law Reform Commission requires the commission to begin preparing a report. This involves a consultation paper; examining the existing law, relevant international law and international considerations; and making initial proposals for changing Irish law.
The commission hopes to complete the process, including consultations and final report, within 18 months.