Artikel 10

1. The competent authority shall not grant an adoption until appropriate enquiries have been made concerning the adopter, the child and his or her family. During such enquiriesand thereafter, data may only be collected, processed and communicated according to the rules relating to professional confidentiality and personal data protection.
2. The enquiries, to the extent appropriate in each case, shall concern, as far as possible and inter alia, the following matters:
a) the personality, health and social environment of the adopter, particulars of his or her home and household and his or her ability to bring up the child;
b) why the adopter wishes to adopt the child;
c) where only one of two spouses or registered partners applies to adopt the child, why the other does not join in the application;
d) the mutual suitability of the child and the adopter, and the length of time that the child has been in his or her care;
e) the personality, health and social environment of the child and, subject to any limitations imposed by law, his or her background and civil status;
f) the ethnic, religious and cultural background of the adopter and of the child.
3. These enquiries shall be entrusted to a person or body recognised for that purpose by law or by a competent authority. They shall, as far as practicable, be made by social workers who are qualified in this field as a result of either their training or their experience.
4. The provisions of this article shall not affect the power or duty of the competent authority to obtain any information or evidence, whether or not within the scope of these enquiries, which it considers likely to be of assistance.
5. Enquiries relating to the suitability to adopt and the eligibility of the adopter, the circumstances and the motives of the persons concerned and the appropriateness of the placement of the child shall be made before the child is entrusted with a view to adoption to the care of the prospective adopter.