Human Rights and European Law
Building New Legal Orders
Mary Arden
From Our Blog
In its recent decision in Mennesson v. France (App no. 65192/11), the Fifth Section of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that surrogate children'in this case, born in the US and having US citizenship'should not be prevented from registering as French citizens, as this would be a violation of their right to respect for their private life. The Strasbourg court's view, which is very understandable, is that nationality is an important part of a person's identity.
Posted on February 24, 2015
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Shortly after it emerged in the 1980s, surrogate motherhood was dealt a severe blow in France by a decision of the Cour de Cassation, its highest civil court. In 1991, it ruled that an agreement entered into by a woman to conceive, bear a child, and relinquish it at birth, albeit for altruistic reasons, was contrary to the public policy principle of unavailability of both the human body and civil status.
Posted on February 23, 2015
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