In law, affiliation (from Latin ad-filiare, to adopt as a son) is the term to describe a partnership between two or more parties. Affiliation procedures in England In England a number of statutes on the subject have been passed, the chief being the Bastardy Act of 1845, and the Bastardy Laws Amendment Acts of 1872 and 1873. The mother of a bastard may summon the putative father to petty sessions within twelve months of the birth (or at any later time if he's proved to have contributed to the… (More on Affiliation)