Seventh meeting of the Experts’ Group on Parentage / Surrogacy
From 12 to 16 October 2020, the Experts’ Group on Parentage / Surrogacy met for the seventh time. The meeting was held via videoconference and was attended by 36 Experts, representing 22 States, 3 Observers, and members of the Permanent Bureau.
The Group, whose work continuation was endorsed by the Council on General Affairs and Policy (CGAP) in 2020, is focusing on developing possible provisions for a general private international law instrument on the recognition of foreign judicial decisions on legal parentage (the Convention) and a separate protocol on the recognition of foreign judicial decisions on legal parentage rendered as a result of an international surrogacy arrangement (the Protocol).
Regarding the Convention, the Group discussed possible uniform applicable law rules and possible rules on the acceptance of legal parentage when recorded in a public document and noted the need to further discuss these topics. Other topics that would need further discussion include the effects of legal parentage when established by operation of law or by an act, and the inclusion or exclusion within its scope of legal parentage established as a result of domestic adoptions.
Regarding the Protocol, the Group focused its discussions on the scope of the Protocol, possible safeguards and how to frame them, and the approaches on how and when the compliance with such safeguards could be verified.
An Aide Memoire presenting the topics discussed during the meeting is available here. The Group will continue its work during 2021 and is due to report to CGAP in 2022.