Adopted children have the right to information about their birth parents

Mothers must tell their children the birth father's name, even if the child was adopted. They owe each other support and consideration, according to the judges.

An adopted child has the right to obtain information about the father's identity from the birth mother. The fact that the woman is no longer the legal mother of the child does not preclude the right to information. This was decided by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe (Az. XII ZB 183/21). The judges ruled that parents and children owe each other support and consideration. The right to information has "very significant constitutional importance".

The case is about a 30-year-old woman who was adopted as a little girl. The biological mother had stated that she could not remember any possible father. She was only 16 years old when her child was born, as the BGH explained. After the adoption, the two did not see each other again until 2003, mediated by the youth welfare office . The daughter sued the court for information about the biological father - initially unsuccessfully before the district court in Stuttgart. The Stuttgart Higher Regional Court then ordered the mother to name all the men with whom she had sexual intercourse at the time in question.

On the other hand, she lodged an appeal with the Federal Court of Justice, which has now rejected it. The state is also obliged to protect individuals from withholding available information about their origins. The BGH explained that this is not just about enforcing financial interests. Rather, the right to know one's own descent is strengthened.

It does not matter that the daughter has adoptive parents . The obligation to provide information had already arisen before the adoption. The mother also did not claim that her privacy could be violated.

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