FD24P00634 - [2025] EWHC 900 (Fam)

There has never been any established family life within the meaning of Article 8 ECHR between the mother and father. X does not regard herself as having been in a relationship with the father having only briefly chatted to him online before meeting him once. This was a fleeting encounter with contact ending abruptly when the father blocked X on Snapchat. The father also has no knowledge of Y’s birth.

However that does not mean that I can disregard the father’s interests. Even in the absence of established family life within the meaning of Article 8 ECHR the birth father has an interest that needs to be considered and I bear in mind that he has not had any opportunity to establish any form of family life with Y given he does not know that Y exists. I bear in mind that the father’s extended family may also have a relevant interest in these applications and in the potential adoption of Y.

As to the mother’s extended family, apart from X’s younger brother, they are based in South Africa and X has said she is not close to them and regards them as no more than strangers when it comes to the possibility of them caring for Y. Consequently, even if there is an established family life within the meaning of Article 8 ECHR, those are not strong ties.

I bear in mind that the mother’s Article 8 ECHR rights are engaged as someone who has been clear from the outset that she wanted Y to be adopted so as to give him long-term stability. In making those choices, the mother’s Article 8 ECHR rights are also engaged.

This is also a case in which the prospective adopters’ Article 8 ECHR rights are potentially engaged given the bond they have formed with him, albeit I bear in mind that this has been over a short period since February 2025.

I have to weigh up all of these competing rights as part of the balancing exercise I must undertake.