The Adoptee’s Right to Know His/Her Biological Identity in Romanian Legislation

The right of the adopted person to know his/her biological identity and to have access to all information concerning the adoption is enshrined in the revised European Convention, on the adoption of children and the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption. Therefore, from the perspective of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as the consistent case law of the ECHR, “the right to know one’s origins or the right to know one's biological identity has its basis in the broad interpretation of the concept of privacy.†In Romania, the right of adoptees to know their origins is enshrined in the Constitution and is regulated both in the Civil Code, adopted in 2011, and in special laws, which establish that adopted persons have the right to know their origins and their own past and, in this regard, are supported in their efforts to contact their natural parents or biological relatives. At the same time, these legal acts also regulate the way in which the adoptee is informed about the adoption and his/her family of origin, as well as the general legal regime of information on adoption.