## Facts

- Two adults, informally placed as infants for adoption-like care in the 1940s–1950s (before statutory adoption), sought to identify their natural mothers.
- A charitable society arranged the placements and retained records; its priest-custodian held the documents.
- The natural mothers surrendered custody on an express condition that their identities would remain confidential.
- One alleged birth mother, when contacted, refused further contact; the other could not be located.
- In Circuit Court proceedings, one applicant sought a declaration of maternity under § 35 of the Status of Children Act 1987 and sought third-party discovery of records revealing her mother’s identity; the other applicant brought parallel proceedings seeking similar disclosure.
- The record-holders resisted disclosure, citing confidentiality undertakings and the birth mothers’ constitutional privacy interests.
- The Circuit Court stated constitutional and jurisdictional questions to the Supreme Court for determination.

## Issues

1. Whether the Circuit Court, while exercising statutory jurisdiction (including under § 35 of the Status of Children Act 1987), has power and duty to apply the Constitution and vindicate personal rights.
2. Whether a person has an unenumerated constitutional right to know the identity of his or her natural parent(s), and how it is reconciled with a birth mother’s constitutional rights to privacy and confidentiality.
3. Whether discovery orders compelling disclosure of records identifying a birth mother may be made without first giving the mother a practicable opportunity to assert privacy/confidentiality claims through fair procedures.
4. Whether a person informally adopted before the Adoption Act 1952 is excluded from seeking a declaration of parentage under § 35 as an “adopted person.”

## Decision

- The Supreme Court answered the stated questions and remitted the matters to the Circuit Court.
- The Circuit Court has jurisdiction and a constitutional obligation, within matters properly before it, to uphold constitutional rights when exercising its statutory functions.
- There is an unenumerated constitutional right to know one’s natural parentage, but it is not absolute and must be balanced against the birth mother’s constitutional privacy and confidentiality rights.
- Discovery of third-party records revealing a birth mother’s identity is discretionary and not automatic; before ordering disclosure, the court must, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure the mother is given an opportunity to assert her rights using procedures that minimize unnecessary disclosure.
- Persons informally adopted pre-1952 are not “adopted persons” for purposes of the statutory exclusion in § 35 and may apply for a parentage declaration.

## Legal Principles

- Courts of limited jurisdiction must apply the Constitution and vindicate personal rights within the scope of matters properly before them.
- Article 40.3 protects unenumerated personal rights, including a person’s interest in knowing his or her natural parentage.
- Competing constitutional rights (identity/parentage interests and privacy/confidentiality) must be harmonized; neither interest is treated as absolute.
- Third-party discovery affecting a non-party’s constitutional rights requires fair procedures; where practicable, the affected person must be given an opportunity to be heard before disclosure is compelled, using protective mechanisms (e.g., in camera or sealed/anonymized procedures).
- “Adopted person” exclusions in parentage-declaration statutes apply to statutory adoption and do not bar claims by persons placed through informal pre-statute arrangements.

## Conclusion

The Supreme Court confirmed that an adult’s constitutional interest in knowing natural parentage exists but must be reconciled with a birth mother’s privacy and confidentiality; accordingly, compelled disclosure of identifying records requires procedural safeguards and, where practicable, notice and an opportunity for the mother to assert her rights, and informal pre-1952 placements do not bar § 35 parentage applications.


I.O’T. v. B, [1998] 2 I.R. 321 (Ir. 1998)