MARCKX v. BELGIUM JUDGMENT 10 cited above, the De Becker judgment of 27 March 1962, Series A no. 4, p. 26 in fine, and the De Wilde, Ooms and Versyp judgment of 10 March 1972, Series A no. 14, p. 10, para. 22): they are challenging a legal position - that of an unmarried mothers and of children born out of wedlock - which affects them personally. The Government appear, in short, to consider that this position is not or is barely detrimental to the applicants. The Court recalls in this respect that the question of the existence of prejudice is not a matter for Article 25 (art. 25) which, in its use of the word "victim", denotes "the person directly affected by the act or omission which is in issue" (above-cited De Wilde, Ooms and Versyp judgment, p. 11, paras. 23-24; see also the Engel and others judgments of 8 June and 23 November 1976, Series A no. 22, p. 37, para. 89, and p. 69, para. 11). Paula and Alexandra Marckx can therefore "claim" to be victims of the breaches of which they complain. In order to ascertain whether they are actually victims, the merits of each of their contentions have to be examined. II. ON THE MERITS 28. The applicants rely basically on Articles 8 and 14 (art. 8, art. 14) of the Convention. Without overlooking the other provisions which they invoke, the Court has accordingly turned primarily to these two Articles (art. 8, art. 14) in its consideration of the three aspects of the problem referred to it by the Commission: the manner of establishing affiliation, the extent of the child’s family relationships, the patrimonial rights of the child and of her mother. 29. Article 8 (art. 8) of the Convention provides: "1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. 2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others." 30. The Court is led in the present case to clarify the meaning and purport of the words "respect for ... private and family life", which it has scarcely had the occasion to do until now (judgment of 23 July 1968 in the "Belgian Linguistic" case, Series A no. 6, pp. 32-33, para. 7; Klass and others judgment of 6 September 1978, Series A no. 28, p. 21, para. 41). 31. The first question for decision is whether the natural tie between Paula and Alexandra Marckx gave rise to a family life protected by Article 8 (art. 8).