Art. 1285.17 Refusal of final decree

If a judge decides that finalizing an intercountry adoption is not in the child's best interest, the judge can refuse to grant the final adoption decree. This means the adoption does not go through, even if the family has already been caring for the child for some time.

When this happens, the judge has the power to take the child away from the people who wanted to adopt them. The judge can then either give custody back to whoever had legal custody of the child before, or choose a new custodian to care for the child. The main goal is to make sure the child ends up in a safe and stable living situation, even if that means the adoption does not happen.