Key Facts
- •Twin boys born in late 2022 to a young mother in her early twenties.
- •Mother is of Pakistani Muslim heritage and lives with her family.
- •Mother relinquished the children for adoption shortly after birth due to fear of family rejection.
- •Father is not named on the birth certificate and has had no contact.
- •Children are thriving in Muslim foster care with potential for adoption.
- •Mother consistently refused notification of the family, citing cultural and religious concerns, and fear of honour-based violence (though physical violence risk was deemed low).
- •Significant delay in court proceedings (6 months).
Legal Principles
Principles governing decisions on notification of relatives in potential adoption cases.
Re A & Others [2020] EWCA Civ 41
Balancing exercise between mother's right to private life and the child's welfare.
Re A & Others [2020] EWCA Civ 41
Factors to consider include parental responsibility, Article 8 rights, substance of relationships, likelihood of family placement, impact of notification on mother and others, cultural and religious factors, confidentiality of information, and impact of delay.
Re A & Others [2020] EWCA Civ 41
Outcomes
Granted the local authority's application to not notify maternal and paternal families.
The court considered the significant cultural and religious factors, potential emotional harm to the mother and family, low likelihood of a successful family placement, and the length of the delay. Despite the lack of direct evidence from the family, the mother's testimony was considered credible and sufficient to support the decision.