The European Court of Human Rights consistently recognizes the right to know one’s biological origins as an integral element of the right to respect for private and family life, as well as the internationally recognized right of the child to identity. States Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights have a positive obligation to ensure a fair balance between the child’s right to know their origins, on the one hand, and the putative parent’s right to respect for private life and physical integrity, or the existing legal parents’ right to preserve the stability of family relations, on the other hand. In this paper, the author examines the scope and probative value of DNA analysis, while addressing broader socioethical issues – whether DNA analysis can or should be mandatory, the consequences of non-compliance, and whether the legal system provides alternatives to refusal. This research aims to synthesize the key standards in this field through a theoretical and empirical analysis of the Court’s case law. The author employed the following methods in the paper: the normative-dogmatic method, the comparative law method, content analysis, the case study method, and purposive sampling.
Natalija Nedeljković (Wed,) studied this question.
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