MARCKX v. BELGIUM JUDGMENT
PARTLY DISSENTING OPINION OF JUDGE BINDSCHEDLER-ROBERT
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concerned, the child was a victim of a violation of Article 8 (art. 8) even if
in fact she was not prejudiced.
On the question of discrimination in the establishment of affiliation I take
the view that, here too, a distinction must be drawn between the mother and
the child. Whilst certain differences of legal treatment between married and
unmarried mothers cannot be regarded as entirely without foundation as
regards the mother, the situation appears to me to be different when it is
seen from the viewpoint of respect for the family life of the children and the
requirements deriving therefrom; for I consider that the distinction residing
in the fact that only children born out of wedlock require to be formally
recognised by their mother - or have their affiliation determined by a court for a legal bond of affiliation with the mother to be established lacks
objective justification since, as regards the children, no reason can be
discerned for treating them differently in this area according to whether they
were born in or out of wedlock. The child Alexandra was thus the victim of
a discrimination forbidden by the Convention even if her mother was not.
In conclusion I would mention that, although in law account has to be
taken of the differences in the situation of the mother and child, rectification
of the position will necessarily imply solutions applying equally well to
both of them; the practical effects of the distinctions drawn thus prove to be
very relative if not non-existent.