X and Y (Children: Adoption Order: Setting Aside) [2026] UKSC 13

Imogen Todd looks at the recent decision in X and Y (Children: Adoption Order: Setting Aside) [2026] UKSC 13, in which the UK Supreme Court ruled that courts have no inherent jurisdiction to revoke a valid adoption order outside the limited statutory exceptions or the appeal process.

The case concerned whether adoption orders relating to two children, X and Y, could be set aside using the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction where no appeal route was available. The appeal was supported by the adoptive mother, the children, and their birth mother, with the Association of Lawyers for Children (ALC) intervening.

Earlier decisions in the High Court and Court of Appeal had rejected the application to revoke the adoption orders. While the Court of Appeal suggested there may be extremely narrow situations where revocation could potentially arise outside statute. The Supreme Court firmly rejected that possibility.

Lord Stephens and Lady Simler in joint judgment held that inherent jurisdiction cannot be used to circumvent a comprehensive statutory scheme. Adoption law under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 fully governs the making and consequences of adoption orders, which are intended to create a permanent and transformative legal relationship between the child and their adoptive parents.

Reviewing the history of adoption law since the Adoption Act 1926, the Supreme Court emphasised longstanding policy reasons for the irrevocability of adoption orders, including the need for permanence, certainty, and protection of the status of adopted children.

The court also rejected arguments based on the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, finding that neither requires valid adoption orders to be revocable; although it is noted that these arguments were not pursued at trial.

In summary, the only way to challenge a valid adoption order is by appeal (including out-of-time appeals in exceptional cases), not through invoking the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court. This decision reflects the permanence and irrevocability of adoption orders, which are central features of UK adoption law.

The full judgment is available here.