Except under the authority of an order under Article 57 it shall not be lawful for any person to take or send a child who is a British subject or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland out of Northern Ireland to any place outside the British Islands with a view to the adoption of the child by any person not being a parent or guardian or relative of the child; and any person who takes or sends a child out of Northern Ireland to any place in contravention of this paragraph, or makes or takes part in any arrangements for transferring the actual custody of a child to any person for that purpose, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

In any proceedings under this Article, a report by a British consular officer or a deposition made before a British consular officer and authenticated under the signature of that officer shall, upon proof that the officer or the deponent cannot be found in the United Kingom, be admissible as evidence of the matters stated therein, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature or official character of the person who appears to have signed any such report or deposition.

In this Article “the British Islands” means the United Kindom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.