Angelina Jolie believes Madonna must have known that her adoption of a baby from Malawi would be controversial because she knew that the country is not covered by the Hague Convention for intercountry adoption.

Madonna’s adoption of 15 month old David Banda is being challenged in Malawi by a coalition of 67 human and children’s rights groups because they claim she paid to bypass the country’s usual adoption laws.

Angelina is quoted in New magazine as saying: “Madonna knows very well that she adopted from a country without legal adoption, so it was an unusual situation.”

Angelina added that she doesn’t anticipate falling into the same trap when she adopts her next child with partner Brad Pitt: “I don’t intend to adopt a child from a country where there is no legal adoption.”