European Court of Human Rights Rules Removal of Child Born via Surrogacy from Intended Parents Not a Rights Violation (January 24, 2017) [1]
On January 24, 2017, the European Court of Human Rights ruled [3] in Paradiso and Campanelli v. Italy that the removal of a child born via gestational surrogacy from the intended parents, who had no biological relation to the child, was not in contradiction to Article 8 (right to private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case dealt with the placement of a child born in Russia following a gestational surrogacy contract between a Russian woman and an Italian couple into foster care due to the couple’s “suspected . . . misrepresentation of civil status, use of falsified documents and breach of the Adoption Act.” According to the press release [4], “[t]he Court considered that the contested measures [that led to child’s placement] had pursued the legitimate aims of preventing disorder and protecting the rights and freedoms of others,” and “it regarded as legitimate the Italian authorities’ wish to reaffirm the State’s exclusive competence to recognise a legal parent-child relationship—and this solely in the case of a biological tie or lawful adoption—with a view to protecting children.” The Court concluded that the Italian courts “had struck a fair balance between the different interests at stake, while remaining within the . . . ‘margin of appreciation.’”