AFFILIATION, in law, the procedure by which the paternity of a bastard child is determined, and the obligation of contributing to its support enforced. In England a number of statutes on the subject have been passed, the chief being the Bastardy Act of 1845, the Bastardy Laws Amendment Acts of 1872 and 1873, the Affiliation Orders Act, 1914, the Affiliation Orders Act, 1918, and the Bastardy Act, 1923. The mother of a bastard may summon the putative father to petty sessions within 12 months of the birth (or at any later time if he is proved to have contributed to the child's support or ceased to reside in England within 12 months after the birth), and the justices, after hearing evidence on both sides, may, if the mother's evidence be corroborated in some material particular, adjudge the man to be the putative father of the child, and order him to pay a sum not exceeding 20 shillings a week for its maintenance, together with a sum for expenses incidental to the birth, or the funeral expenses, if it has died before the date of order, and the costs of the proceedings. An order ceases to be valid after the child reaches the age of 13, except as regards arrears, but the justices may in the order direct the payments to be continued until the child is 16 years of age. An appeal to quarter sessions is open to both the mother and the defendant, and a further appeal on questions of law to the King's Bench. Should the child afterwards become chargeable to the parish, the sum due by the father may be received by the re lieving officer. When a bastard child whose mother has not obtained an order, becomes chargeable to the parish, the guardians may proceed against the putative father for a contribution, and such an order may be varied and continued in favour of the mother or person having custody of the child. Any woman who is single, a widow, or a married woman living apart from her husband, may make an application for a summons. The Bastardy Act, 1872, makes due provision for the enforcement of an order of affiliation, and commitment is governed by the Summary Juris diction Act, 1879, and the Criminal Justice Act, 1914. In the case of soldiers an affiliation order cannot be enforced in the usual way, but by the Army Act 1881, as amended in 1883, 1891, and 1915, if an order has been made against a soldier of the regu lar forces, a portion of the soldier's pay may be retained. There is similar legislation with regard to sailors in the Royal Navy, by the Naval Discipline Act, 1915.
It having been found in practice that affiliation orders became ineffective owing to the unwillingness or inability of the mother to make continual appearances before the justices, under the Affiliation Orders Act, 1914, collecting officers may be appointed.
In the British colonies there is some procedure (usually termed filiation) akin to that described above, by means of which a mother can obtain a contribution to the support of her illegiti mate child from the putative father. On the continent of Europe, however, the legislation of the various countries differs rather widely. (See ADOPTION ; also BASTARD ; POOR LAWS. ) BinuocRApny.-Saunders, Law and Practice of Orders of Affiliation (1915) ; G. Lushington, Law of Affiliation and Bastardy (1923) ; J. B. Little, Poor Law Statutes (1901-02).