ABSTRACT
The protection which the European Convention on Human Rights affords the family, both as a unit and in terms of its individual adult and child members, is unrivalled in international law. The scope of Article 8 is very broad and it has been interpreted in a dynamic fashion by the Commission and Court of Human Rights. The flexible approach to the existence of family life has enabled the Commission and Court to adapt the concept to the challenges brought by modern family arrangements. From an early stage, the Court has recognised that the concept of family life may include extended members of the child's family. The Court established at an early stage that Article 8 applies automatically to the relationship between a mother and her child, regardless of her marital status. Until recently however, only unmarried fathers who could provide evidence of their contact with and commitment to their children were entitled to the protection of Article 8.
