Adoption in Spain

The adopted’s right to know their origins constitutes an essential manifestation of the right to identity and free development of the personality of adopted persons, regulated by the articles 180, 5 and 6 of the Spanish CC and the articles 12 and 5, 1, i) of Law 54/2007, of December 28, on International Adoption. The adoptee can not only request data on his or her biological origin but also information on the identity of his or her parents and their biogenetic data. This right may conflict with the right to privacy and data protection of biological parents and family. This paper presents the double public/private aspect of the right to know the origins of adopted people. On the one hand, its extension and limits are analyzed in confrontation with the rights to privacy, intimate family and personal life and data protection of the family of origin and, on the other, we analyze the actions of Public Entities and the administration to guarantee its exercise and effectiveness. This paper is completed with the most recent jurisprudential analysis.