The Best Interest of the Child in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in Adoption Cases

Abstract

In all procedures related to children, including the adoption procedure, the competent national authorities must act in accordance with the principle of the best interest of the child. The challenges of applying the principle of the best interest of the child are particularly reflected in cases related to adoption. This is also connected with the fact of the complexity of adoption, which results in the termination of (legal) relations between the child and the biological parents. The European Court of Human Rights also decided on the best interest of the child in adoption cases, in the context of the right to respect for family life, which contributed to the interpretation of this principle. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to determine the understanding of the best interest of the child in adoption cases in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and present the criteria used by competent national authorities to justify adoption. In the first part of the paper, the principle of the best interest of the child is presented, indicating the non-existence of a single definition, guidelines for its interpretation and the relationship between the best interest of the child and adoption. Subsequently, the right to respect for family life is analysed, and besides, the relationship between this right and the principle of the best interest of the child. The views of the European Court of Human Rights on the best interest of the child in adoption cases are analysed in cases of child adoption without parental consent and intercountry adoptions. In this way, an insight into the meaning of the best interest of the child is given through special aspects of adoption.