Hopefully, not many, if any, of our learned Senior Judges still fit the popular stereotype of ‘an ancient dinosaur living in the wrong age’. The Beatles is probably the one group that every living adult and sensible child could identify as a famous pop group. Yet in 1985, one Judge declared not to know who The Beatles were. That was a classic case of the ridiculous descending into the sublime; a bit like a contemporary Judge denying any knowledge of BGT! A High Court Judge has recently declared that Facebook is a useful tool in the armoury for tracing birth parents.
“I do wish to highlight by this short judgment that, in the modern era, Facebook may well be a route to somebody such as a birth parent whose whereabouts are unknown and who requires to be served with notice of adoption proceedings. I do not for one moment suggest that Facebook should be the first method used, but it does seem to be a useful tool in the armoury which can certainly be resorted to long before a conclusion is reached that it is impossible to locate the whereabouts of a birth parent. Of course, not everyone is on Facebook but, in this particular case, a relatively socially disadvantaged young mother, has been found very rapidly by that means,” said the Judge.
This is a really good example of Judge doing what he has been paid to do – think outside of the box. The worry is that the Local Authority had not been able to do the same.
Bastian Lloyd Morris LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Registered in England under company no: OC329737.