Sixth meeting of the Experts’ Group on Parentage / Surrogacy

From 29 October to 1 November 2019, the Experts’ Group on Parentage / Surrogacy met for the sixth time in The Hague. The meeting was attended by 22 Experts from different States, three observers and members of the Permanent Bureau. 

The mandate of the Group is “to explore the feasibility of advancing work (…) on the private international law issues surrounding the status of children, including issues arising from international surrogacy arrangements”. In keeping with the request of the 2019 meeting of the Council on General Affairs and Policy (CGAP), the Group focused on proposing provisions for developing both: 

  • a general private international law instrument on the recognition of foreign judicial decisions on legal parentage; and
  • a separate protocol on the recognition of foreign judicial decisions on legal parentage rendered as a result of an international surrogacy arrangement. 

The Experts’ Group also discussed the feasibility of making provisions in relation to applicable law rules and public documents. 

The Experts’ Group will recommend to CGAP that the Group continue its work on proposing provisions for inclusion in both possible future instruments. 

The report of the sixth meeting is available here.