§ 1414. Hearings and Records of Adoption Proceedings; Confidential Nature
TITLE 8: FAMILY LAW AND PROBATE DIVISION 1: DOMESTIC RELATIONS § 1414. Hearings and Records of Adoption Proceedings; Confidential Nature. (a) Notwithstanding any other law concerning public hearings and records: (1) All hearings held in proceedings under this chapter, shall, upon request by any interested person and upon order the court, be held in closed court without admittance of any person other than the essential officers of the court, the parties, their witnesses, counsel, persons who have not previously consent- ed to the adoption but are required to consent, and representatives of the agen- cies present to perform their official duties; (2) All papers and records pertaining to the adoption, whether part of the permanent record of the court or of a file in the Division of Youth Services or in an agency, are subject to inspection only upon consent of the court and all interested persons, or, in exceptional cases, only upon an order of the court for good cause shown; and (3) Except as authorized in writing by the adoptive parent, the adoptive child, if 14 or more years of age, or, upon order of the court for good cause shown in exceptional cases, no person is required to disclose the name or identity of either adoptive parent or of an adoptive child. (b) For purposes of this section, “interested person” is a petitioner or anyone whose consent is required under 8 CMC § 1404. Source: PL 8-42, § 16, modified. Commission Comment: With respect to the reference to the “Division of Youth Services,” see Executive Order 94-3 (effective August 23, 1994), reor- ganizing the executive branch, changing agency names and official titles, and effecting other changes, set forth in the Commission comment to 1 CMC § 2001.
Source: CNMI Law Revision Commission