Children born by surrogacy abroad: registration in the civil … – Le Point

The Attorney General has recommended Friday in the Supreme Court to include in the civil status of children born to Gestation for others abroad (GPA). An inscription will be subject to a test establishing a biological relationship. “The automatic transcription of foreign birth on French civil act would mean an automatic recognition of surrogacy,” prohibited in France, said Jean-Claude Marin.

The Court of Cassation, which has reserved its decision on July 3, was addressing cases of two children born in Russia of French father. The Court of Appeal of Rennes refused registration in the first case on 15 April 2014 but had accepted it in the second, on 16 December 2014 after being convicted of the European Court of Human Rights ( ECHR). On 26 June 2014, the ECHR had indeed recognized to France the right to prohibit the GPA on its territory, but, citing the best interests of the child, had considered that it could undermine the ” identity “of babies born to surrogate mothers abroad by refusing to recognize them.

” superior interests of the child “

” The best interests of the child is that determined by the judge as objectively as possible (…), but it is circumstantial, “it may differ” from one moment to another and from one child to another, “said the Attorney General. Until the decision of the ECHR, the Court of Cassation had always dismissed the appeals on the subject. Totally banned in France and in most other states of the European Union, the GPA is allowed for heterosexual couples in some countries in Europe, like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.