International law provides a clear structure for countries of origin to define the eligibility criteria for foreign prospective adoptive parents; it is part of their sovereign prerogative (section 8.2, Hague Conference on Private International Law, 2008). Mia Dambach examines how this is reflected in national legislative frameworks as of 2010, with respect to adoptions by gay men and lesbians by providing a comparative review of ‘countries of origin’ by region. Following this overview, she discusses the practical consequences, which include the reality that despite having the ‘legal possibility’ to become adopters in at least 20 receiving countries, gay men and lesbians face enormous difficulties in realising their desires. This is because only two countries of origin expressly legalise this possibility via legislation and a handful of others by approving individual cases. This situation illustrates the fact that occidental views are not always shared by countries of origin.
