Birth relationships after adoption - is there a role for Article 8?

The movement towards open adoption from public care in the UK has been emerging from research with patchy application in practice. The possibility of continued relationships between birth relatives and adopted children, in particular between siblings, gives cause to consider the implications of those relationships in the legal framework, in particular in relation to rights under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950. This article considers the existing jurisprudence both domestic and European on the engagement of Article 8 and argues that further consideration is required of its possible engagement post-adoption.