Unrecognized child: A judge may issue a notorious deed without having to give reasons for his decision

A person was born in 1968, out of wedlock, without paternal filiation declared on his birth certificate. On 7 May 2009, a guardianship judge recognized her as a natural child with regard to the man who had always treated her as his own daughter and who had just died, on the basis of three witnesses. This man provided for his education, his maintenance and his establishment. The Montpellier Court of Appeal declared the act of notoriety void because the judge did not mention precisely in the act what the witnesses said.

The Court of Cassation quashes and annuls the appeal brought by the man's family of origin. There is no provision requiring the judge to specify the exact content of the statement of the three witnesses on the basis of which it is established. The judge freely assesses, without having to give reasons for his decision, whether the facts presented by the applicant constitute possession of a natural child.