CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 9 octobre 2002

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .s5FFF0A77 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:1pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s94935B0F { width:389.85pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s67C903A { width:13.93pt; display:inline-block } .s69BE285C { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:85.05pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-85.05pt } .s18D96D33 { width:15.69pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .sBF401EEE { width:32.35pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s3964C3A3 { width:1.36pt; display:inline-block } .s901C2590 { width:56.7pt; display:inline-block }   EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS     480   9.10.2002   Press release issued by the Registrar   GRAND CHAMBER HEARING ON THE MERITS IN THE CASE OF ODIEVRE v. FRANCE   Wednesday 9 October 2002 at 9.00 a.m.   The applicant   The case concerns an application (no. 42326/98) brought by a French national, Pascale Odievre, who was born in 1965 and lives in Paris. She is unemployed.   Summary of the facts   Her application concerns the rules governing confidentiality on birth, which have prevented her from obtaining information about her natural family.   She was born on 23 March 1965 in Paris. Her mother sought confidentiality for the birth and completed a form at the Health and Social Security Department abandoning her rights to her child. The applicant was placed in the care of the Children’s Welfare and Protection of Youth Service and registered as being in State care. She was subsequently fully adopted by Mr and Mrs   Odièvre, whose surname she continues to use.   The applicant consulted her file at the Children’s Welfare Service of the Seine département in 1990 and was able to obtain information of a general nature about her natural family. On 27   January 1998 she applied to the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance for an order “for disclosure of confidential information concerning her birth and permission to obtain copies of any documents, public records or full birth certificates”. She explained to the court that she had learnt that her natural parents had had a son in 1963 and two other sons after 1965. However, the Children’s Welfare Service had refused to provide her with details regarding her brothers’ identity on the ground that it would entail a breach of confidence. She submitted that having discovered the existence of her brothers, her application for disclosure of information about her birth was well-founded.   On 2 February 1998 the court registrar returned the case file to the applicant’s lawyer stating “... it appears that the applicant should perhaps apply to the administrative court to obtain, if possible, an order requiring the authorities to disclose the information, although such an order would in any event contravene the Law of 8 January 1993”. (The statute lays down that an application for disclosure of details identifying the natural mother is inadmissible if confidentiality was agreed at birth).   Complaints   The applicant complains that she has been unable to obtain details identifying her natural family, contrary to Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. She says that her inability to do so is highly damaging to her as it deprives her of the chance of reconstituting her life history. She further submits that the French rules on confidentiality governing birth amount to discrimination on the ground of birth, contrary to Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination).   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 12   March 1998. A Chamber hearing was held on 16 October 2001 and the case was declared admissible the same day. On 24 June 2002 the Chamber relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber none of the parties having objected (Article 30 of the Convention and Rule 72 of the Rules of Court).   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Luzius Wildhaber (Swiss), President , Christos Rozakis (Greek), Jean-Paul Costa (French), Georg Ress (German), Nicolas Bratza (British), Giovanni Bonello (Maltese), Loukis Loucaides (Cypriot), Pranas Kūris (Lithuanian), Ireneu Cabral Barreto (Portuguese), Françoise Tulkens (Belgian), Karel Jungwiert (Czech), Boštjan Zupančič (Slovenian), Matti Pellonpää (Finnish), Hanne Sophie Greve (Norwegian), Rait Maruste (Estonian), Mindia Ugrekhelidze (Georgian), Lech Garlicki (Polish), judges ,   Marc Fischbach (Luxemburger), Snejana Botoucharova (Bulgarian), Stanislav Pavlovschi (Moldovan), substitute judges ,   and also Paul Mahoney , Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government:   François Alabrune , Agent , Laurence Delahaye , Olivia Wingert, Catherine Briand, Counsel ;   Applicant:   Didier Mendelsohn , Counsel ; Odile Roy, Adviser.   The applicant will also attend the hearing.   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15)   Stéphanie Klein (téléphone : 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54) Fax: 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.