Madonna accepts Malawi ruling

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Alan Chinula said by telephone from the Malawi capital Lilongwe that Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie spoke to him after Wednesday's court decision and said they had "no problems" with the ruling.

"They called me from London to express their willingness to sit back and wait for the subsequent hearing now only 15 months away," Chinula said.

High Court Judge Andrew Nyirenda Wednesday ruled that a coalition of rights groups and the Malawi Human Rights Commission would be allowed to participate in further judicial review of the interim adoption of one-year-old David Banda.

Madonna's adoption of the child grabbed worldwide headlines and caused some rights groups in Malawi to question whether she had used her celebrity to bypass laws governing the adoption of Malawians by foreigners.

Chinula said Madonna acted within the law and would welcome a review of the case in order to clarify future cases.

"We followed the law to the letter in the adoption process, but it's good now that this will be a test case and will help to come up with guiding principles for future inter-country adoptions," he said.

Madonna signed interim adoption papers when she and Ritchie visited in October on what they said was a humanitarian mission to help Malawi orphans.

Under the interim order, David Banda was to stay with Madonna for 18 months during which time his progress would be monitored by Malawi officials before final approval may be given for him to remain with her family.