(5) The Minister may, by statutory instrument, amend the rules in the Second Schedule to this Act. PART VII—ADOPTION. 44. Jurisdiction. (1) (a) An application for an adoption order may be made— to a chief magistrate’s court within the jurisdiction of which the applicant or the child resides where both the child and the applicant are citizens of Uganda; (b) to the High Court where the child or the applicant is not a citizen of Uganda, and the court may, subject to this Act, grant the application. (2) A child need not be a Ugandan to be adopted. Prerequisites for adoption. 45. Restrictions and conditions. (1) An adoption order may be granted to a sole applicant or jointly to spouses where— (a) the applicant or at least one of the joint applicants has attained the age of twenty-five years and is at least twenty-one years older than the child; (b) in the case of an application by one of the spouses, the other has consented to the adoption. (2) The court may dispense with the consent required under subsection (1)(b) if the spouse whose consent is required cannot be found or is incapable of giving consent, or the spouses are separated and living apart and the separation is likely to be permanent. (3) An adoption order shall not be made in favour of a sole male applicant in respect of a female child, or in favour of a sole female applicant in respect of a male child, unless the court is satisfied that there are special circumstances that justify, as an exceptional measure, the making of an adoption order.