The Malawi Supreme Court ruled in favor of Madonna on Friday, June 12, allowing her to adopt her second child from the country, 3-year-old Mercy James.
© DDP/AFP/File Sascha SchuermannJune 12, 2009, (Sawf News) - The Malawi Supreme Court ruled in favor of Madonna on Friday, June 12, allowing her to adopt her second child from the country, 3-year-old Mercy James.
"It's the wee hours of morning in New York but she is excited at the news," Madonna's lawyer Alan Chinula told the AP. "As her lawyer I am happy that this has settled this contentious issue."
Mercy is expected to fly out of Malawi in a private jet after her travel documents are prepared in 2-3 days.
In April, a Malawian judge rejected Madonna's bid to adopt Mercy because the singer did not fulfill a residency requirement for foreign adopters.
Malawian law mandates that foreign adopters spend 18-24 months living in the country with the children they want to adopt.
Madonna’s lawyer appealed the ruling on the grounds that the best interest of the child was not given the highest consideration.
While overturning the ruling of the lower court today, Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo noted that Madonna's continuous efforts to help disadvantaged children in Malawi were not factored in by the lower court.
According to the AP, the singer's charity Raising Malawi has helped to provide medical care, education, and food to more than 1 million orphans.
Madonna already has three children Lourdes (b.October 14, 1996), Rocco (b. August 2000) and David Banda (b. September 24, 2005).
Lourdes is from her relationship to fitness trainer Carlos Leon. Roco is her biological son from former husband Guy Ritchie and Banda was adopted by Madonna and Ritchie from Malawi in 2006.
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