Mai Kaneko-Iwase, Ph.D. (Law) IV. MAXIMUM AGE OF FOUNDLING The question of ‘up to what age a person can be called a foundling’ when ‘found’ in the territory is one of the most frequently arising issues surrounding Article 2 of the 1961 Convention. It is important to note that neither Article 2 nor any other provisions of the 1961 Convention set an upper age limit. A. Ordinary Meaning As stated in section III.A, the definitions of a ‘foundling’ in English contained in both non-legal and legal dictionaries describe the age to be either a ‘baby’ ‘infant’ or a ‘child’. ‘Infant’ can be defined as ‘a very young child or baby’103 in the non-legal sense, but in the legal field, ‘infant’ is also defined as ‘[a] person who has not attained legal majority (full age),’104 i.e. a minor. The age of majority varies around the world, but in many states it is under 18 years old. An infant could also mean a person ‘before the time of commencement of elementary school’, depending on the language, contexts and the relevant law.105 The English term ‘child’ - which can also mean ‘son or daughter’ of any age106 - is normally defined legally as a person under the legal age of majority,107 but can also refer to a pre-pubescent person,108 especially in ordinary terms. While it is noted that the meaning contained in non-legal dictionaries tends to point towards a young child, i.e. a baby or an infant, the ILC states, ‘the ordinary meaning of a term is not to be determined in the abstract but in the context of the treaty and in the light of its object and purpose (emphasis added).’109 For this reason, reference to the wording of domestic foundling provisions of nationality laws valid at the time of drafting of the 1961 Convention also provides some insights on what can be contained within the ordinary meaning of the term ‘foundling’. While most of the accessible nationality laws valid at the time of the 1961 Convention’s drafting used the age-neutral term ‘foundling’ (or ‘enfant trouvé’ in French), it is notable that Article 4 of Peru’s Political Constitution of 1933110 already granted nationality to ‘minors (menores) resident in the territory who are of unknown parents’. Also, section 9 (a) of Israel’s nationality law as enacted in 1952111 provided ‘[w]here a minor, not being an Israel national, is an inhabitant of Israel, and his parents (…) are unknown’, the government may naturalise her or him. Section 13 of the same law provides ‘“minor” means a person under eighteen years of age’. Thus, it can be concluded that at least for some states of the era when the 1961 Convention was being drafted, the term ‘foundling’ also encompassed minors in general. This is complemented by the object and purpose of the 1961 Convention and the analysis to be followed below, making the conclusion possible that the ‘ordinary meaning’ of the term ‘foundling’ in Article 2 encompasses not only young children that non-law dictionaries tend to point towards, but older children. 103 Oxford Learners Dictionary <https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/infant_1>. 104 Black’s Law Dictionary <https://thelawdictionary.org/infant/>; Merriam Webster <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infant>. and <https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/infant>. 105 The definition of ‘yoji’, the Japanese equivalent for ��infant’ or toddler, defined in Article 4(ii) of ‘Child Welfare Act (Act No 164 of December 12, 1947) (Japan)’ (1947). 106 Black’s law dictionary <thelawdictionary.org/child/>. 107 Merriam Webster <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/child>. 108 ibid. 109 ILC, Draft Articles on the Law of Treaties with Commentaries, Yearbook of the ILC, vol II (1966) 221, para 12. 110 Constitución Política del Perú (29 de Marzo de 1933) <https://data.globalcit.eu/NationalDB/docs/PERU_Constitucion%20Politica%20del%20Peru%201933.pdf>. 111 Section 9 (a) of the Israeli Nationality Law (as adopted 1952) <https://data.globalcit.eu/NationalDB/docs/Israeli%20Nationality%20 Law%20(1952).pdf>. 25 Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies