The right to know one’s parentage and identity is a fundamental part of private life. Thorpe LJ said: ‘first, that the interests of justice are best served by the ascertainment of the truth and secondly, that the court should be furnished with the best available science and not confined to such unsatisfactory alternatives as presumptions and inferences. It seems to me obvious that all that Lord Hodson expressed in the passage [above] . . applies with even greater force and logic in a later era. First, there have been huge scientific advances with the arrival of DNA testing. Scientists no longer require blood, thus removing what for some is the unbearable process of its extraction. Of even greater importance is the abandonment of the legal concept of legitimacy achieved by the Family Law Reform Act 1987.’
Judges:
Thorpe LJ, Butler-Sloss DBE LJ P, Key LJ
Citations:
[2002] EWCA Civ 383, [2002] 1 FLR 1145, [2002] 2 FCR 469
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – London Borough of Lewisham v D and Others FD 29-Mar-2010
The local authority was investigating allegations involving the family history of children in their care. They sought disclosure by the respondent police authority of the results DNA comparison tests to assist their investigations. The court . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Children
Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.170084
