The Indonesian Social Affairs ministry will move today to determine whether the adoption of an Indonesian-born child with Irish citizenship is legal.
Tristan Dowse (3) was left in an orphanage outside Jakarta a year ago after his adoptive parents, Irish accountant Joe Dowse and his Azerbaijan-born wife Lala, said the adoption was not working out. The couple later had a baby and moved to Azerbaijan.
The adoption, when Tristan was eight weeks old, was certified by the Irish Adoption Board and he is an Irish citizen and has an Irish passport.
An official at the Indonesian social affairs ministry, Mr Afrinaldi, said he believed the adoption was illegal because there was no record of a letter from the ministry approving it. "On Monday I am going to court to find out how the initial decision was made and get it overturned. Once that has happened we will consider what to do next."
Mr Dowse has denied the adoption was improper. He has been quoted as saying that they had returned the boy to the orphanage because the adoption "was not working out". "It wasn't something that we felt was in Tristan's interests to remain with us," he has said.
Indonesian officials' options are limited because Tristan is Irish even though he has no more contact with the Dowses and is living at the Emmanuel orphanage in Bogor, 25 miles south of the capital Jakarta. Tristan's stay visa was cancelled when Mr Dowse left the country.
Despite Tristan being in legal limbo, Indonesia has no plans or desire to evict him, according to Mr Afrinaldi.
"We want to consider the best interests of Tristan," he said. "He is currently being well looked after, well fed and appears to be happy at the orphanage."
An American couple has visited Tristan regularly and has already begun trying to adopt him.
People close to the case in Indonesia believe that if social services there can demonstrate the adoption was illegal it will then be up to the Irish Government to decide whether to revoke Tristan's citizenship.
The American couple would have to wait until Tristan's nationality has been settled before they can adopt him.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the main priority was to clarify the legal aspects of the case. Once that was done, a decision could be taken on further action. "From the beginning, our main focus has always been on doing what is in the best interests of the child."
Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan has asked if laws governing overseas adoptions need to be tightened up.
Mr Dowse selected the Emmanuel orphanage because he had developed links with it through a social programme run by his company, the Indonesian affiliate of accountancy firm KPMG.
People at the orphanage close to Tristan say he is in good shape. "He's very bright, he loves cars, Lego, reading and eating," one of the staff members said. "He loves water and wants to swim but is a bit of a scaredy-cat when he actually has to get in the water."
He also loves playing marbles, driving his plastic car and gets excited by little things like watching an ant scuttle across the floor, according to the staff member.
When Tristan arrived at the orphanage he spoke virtually only English, the staff member said.
"Now he speaks Indonesian most of the time, although he has still kept all his English and understands when spoken to in English." A woman who has met Tristan several times described his as "a wonderful little kid".