Refusal by the Greek courts to recognise a foreign adoption by a monk violates the ECHR

Christianos & Partners Law Firm has successfully defended an application before the European Court of Human Rights (application no. 56759/08), which has unanimously held on 3 May 2011 that the refusal by Greek courts to recognise an American order of adoption by a monk has amounted to a violation of the adopted child’s fundamental rights.

In particular, the plenary session of the Greek Court of Cassation by its decision no. 17/2008 had refused to grant recognition to the American order of adoption by a monk, based on grounds that such adoption was contrary to the principles of Greek public policy.

The European Court of Human Rights held that the refusal to recognise the adoption order has led to a violation of the adopted child’s right to respect for private and family life (article 8 ECHR), a discriminatory difference in treatment of the adopted child, in comparison to a biological one (article 8 in conjunction with article 14 ECHR), a violation of the adopted child’s right to the peaceful enjoyment of its possessions (article 1 of Protocol no. 1 ECHR), as well as its right to a fair trial (article 6 § 1 ECHR).