Case No. ZE17P01593

married to, or civil partners of, each other at the time of his birth, the father shall acquire parental responsibility for the child if—(a) he becomes registered as the child’s father under any of the enactments specified in subsection (1A);(b) he and the child’s mother make an agreement (a “parental responsibility agreement”) providing for him to have parental responsibility for the child; or(c) the court, on his application, orders that he shall have parental responsibility for the child”Section 4(2)(A) provides: “A person who has acquired parental responsibility under subsection (1) shall cease to have that responsibility only if the court so orders.”6.Accordingly, as Section 4(1) only applies if the parents were not married at the time of the birth, the provisions of Section 4(2)(A) are not engaged. This is undoubtedly anomalous. The question has been raised as to whether such a distinction between married and unmarried parents is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The matter has been considered by Russell J in