In 2018, Dilani Butink initiated a lawsuit against the State of the Netherlands and the intermediary organization involved in her wrongful adoption from Sri Lanka. In first instance, the District Court of the Hague rejected Dilani's claims, holding that they were time-barred. The Court of Appeals has now overturned that ruling. In the appeal, the State of the Netherlands had dropped its position that the claims were time-barred, but the intermediary organization had not. The Appeals Court however, deemed the position that the claims were time barred to be unacceptable, and rejected that defense. The Court of Appeals held that both the State and the intermediary organization had acted unlawfully towards Dilani.
In light of the known issues with international adoptions from Sri Lanka, the intermediary organization should not have been satisfied with the limited information that was available. It should have made a bigger effort to obtain as much information as possible about the Dilani's origins and the circumstances under which her family had given her up. In turn, the State could and should have monitored the intermediary organization and should have checked whether they acted in line with their legal obligations. In view of these infringements, the State could not simply rely on documents provided by the Sri Lankan authorities. According to the Appeals Court: 'such a formalistic and distant stance does not befit the State's own responsibility and obligations'.
The judgment can be accessed here (only in Dutch).
Dilani is represented by lawyer Lisa-Marie Komp.
Previously
- Appeal hearing in case of wrongful adoption from Sri Lanka
- Children who have been illegally adopted hold the Dutch government to account
- Dutch State and adoption agency sued by unlawfully adopted woman
- Court hearing in case about unlawful adoption from Sri Lanka
- Uitspraak in zaak over onrechtmatige adoptie uit Sri Lanka Interlandelijke adopties tijdelijk gestopt