Decision of the Court of Cassation, No. 15024 of 21 July 2016

The Court of Cassation held that after the death of the biological mother, who gave birth by keeping her identity secret, the adoptive daughter had the right to know her biological origins and to access to information about the identity of the biological parent. The Court affirmed that the right to know one’s biological origins and the circumstances of birth is widely recognized at international and supranational levels. In particular, Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 30 of the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption are relevant. Furthermore, the European Court of human rights acknowledged that the right to know one’s origins falls within the scope of the notion of private life laid down in Article 8 of the ECHR, specifically, in the sphere of protection of personal identity.