The right to respect for private and family life of children born through international surrogacy in the case law of the European court of human rights

Abstract

AbstractThe ECHR is a general human rights convention, but it contains some provisions that have gained particular importance in the case law of the ECtHR regarding the human rights of children. Such a provision is, among others, Article 8 on the right to respect for private and family life, the interpretation of which has raised many questions in cases related to children born through international surrogacy. These questions have arisen in relation to the intended parents' standing to bring an application before the Court on behalf of the child, the criteria for ascertaining the interference of the respondent state with the child's right to respect for his private and family life, as well as the specific content of the requirements that must be met for the interference to be justified. By analysing these questions and the answers the Court gave to them, this article attempts to give an overview of the state's obligations to ensure the right of a child born through international surrogacy to respect for his private and family life in connection with the recognition of the parent-child relationship between the intended parents and the child.