ZH v HS and others (Application to Revoke Adoption Order)
[2019] EWHC 2190 (Fam) · High Court, Family Division
What happened: A young child had been adopted in England by her paternal aunt and uncle after becoming separated from her mother during migration. When her mother reached the UK, she challenged the adoption. The court identified extensive failures in the process, including problems with parental consent and the statutory requirements for the application. The relatives had acted in good faith, but professionals had not adequately considered other legal arrangements.
What the court decided: The High Court revoked the adoption order. It found that adoption had been disproportionate, had not met the child’s lifelong welfare needs and had resulted from a process containing numerous errors. The parties agreed that, following assessment, the child should live with her mother.
Why it matters to adoptees: This is a recorded example of adoption being found inappropriate for the child’s circumstances. It shows why separation during migration must not be treated as sufficient reason to replace a child’s legal relationship with their parents. Consent, family information and consideration of alternatives are substantive safeguards. The historical outcome remains relevant, but the legal route used must be read alongside the later X and Y judgments.
Historical route qualified by X and Y
Read alongside CASE-0001, [2025] EWCA Civ 2 and [2026] UKSC 13. Historical outcome is preserved; no general inherent power to revoke a valid adoption order on welfare grounds.
Limitations: Historical revocation. The later X and Y judgments reject a general inherent power to revoke valid adoption orders. Do not present the 2019 procedure as a current general remedy.
Case details and sources
Adoptee involvement: Proceedings concerned a child or children. This summary does not attribute personal views to them beyond the published judgment.
Remedy sought: Adoption order revoked; agreed placement with mother.
Legal route: Application to revoke completed adoption order
Judgments in this case
- [2019] EWHC 2190 (Fam) · High Court, Family Division · 2019 · Judgment
Sources checked
- Judgment source (opens in a new tab)
Paragraphs 1–13 and 34 onwards · Judgment - Current limits on revocation (opens in a new tab)
Jurisdiction and treatment of earlier first instance decisions · Later judgment
Review scope: Judgment reproduction checked for circumstances, procedural failures and historical outcome; later jurisdictional treatment checked in X and Y. No exhaustive later treatment review.
Human verification pending. Entry: CASE-NEW-037.