Artis Kakonge involved in groundbreaking case on step-parent adoption

In 2023, there was a significant legal development in the area of step-parent adoption. In the case of Re H (Step-Parent Adoption: Human Rights) [2023] EWHC 3186

(Fam), the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, allowed an application for an adoption order made by a stepfather where the child’s natural parent had died before the application was submitted. To enable this, the Court modified provisions of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 using its power under s. 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998. Specifically, the additional words "'or was the partner until the time of the parent's death" were read down into s 51(2) of the 2002 Act.

The court found that a single adoption order in favour of the stepfather was the only form of order that would have accurately reflected the practical and lived reality of their lives. It also held that using the jurisdiction of s 3 of the Human Rights Act to have 'read down' the additional words was entirely justified.

This development clarifies children's ability to maintain their family relationships with step-parents after the death of their birth parent. Previously, a sole-person adoption order was available, but it would have destroyed the child's legal relationship with their deceased birth parent and their wider kin relationships from that parent, such as grandparents and cousins. The decision in Re H allows the child's important family ties to be maintained while also recognising the reality of the relationship with a step-parent.