President of the Family Law Division in the High Court has granted a woman permission to see court files relating to the adoption of her father, in order to discover the identity of her grandmother.
Sir James Munby, made the ground-breaking decision allowing the unnamed woman, referred to as Y, to discover her ancestry. This inquiry was previously prevented by an adoption order from 1930. There was previously no legal authority for determining whether Y could be permitted to see the documents, when submitting the request Y said;
"My grandmother … is certainly dead by now, so I will not harm anyone by knowing her name. I will not be trying to contact her relatives or causing any trouble. I just want to know who my dad was, who his mother was, where he was born, and who I am, my sister, my brother, my children and grandchildren."
Munby, said that;
" the public policy of maintaining public confidence in the confidentiality of adoption files is an important consideration".
However overriding this was the consideration that;
"the duration of time that has elapsed since the order was made, and the question of whether any or all of the affected parties are deceased".
Sir Munby took into account that the grandmother’s relatives may be affected by having her identity disclosed, but decided that Y should be permitted to see the court file. He said:
"I do not think it appropriate, let alone necessary, to impose any conditions or restrictions on Y's use of the documents. I am content to leave that to her good sense and discretion.Y's reasons for wanting access to this information are entirely genuine and understandable. The fact that any upset that might be caused to any of [her father's] birth mother's surviving relatives is no more than speculative."
Contact Family Law Edinburgh
For specialist family law advice and related issues, click here to complete our enquiry form or call us on 0131 208 1608.
