Gestational Surrogacy : the Paradiso and Campanelli Case before the Grand Chamber (High Court) of the European Court of Human Rights

During the meeting held on June 1, 2015, five judges of the Grand Chamber accepted to refer the Paradiso and Campanelli Case to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, heeding the request of the Italian Government. This case “concerns the care, by the Italian Social services, of a nine-month-old child born in Russia, via a GS contract signed by a couple who would subsequently be proven to have no biological connection with the child.”
The Italian couple in question had had recourse to a surrogate mother and in-vitro fertilization in Russia. The Italian authorities had refused to register the parentage linking the child to the married couple in the Civil Registry as the biological connection had not been proven. The couple challenged this decision before the court, going as far as to appeal before the ECHR.
By the verdict of January 27, 2015 announced by the second section of the Court composed of seven judges, the ECHR had recognized the couple as “victims” and the Italian authorities were accused of having violated their rights of respecting family and private life. However this verdict is not yet definitive, because the case has been referred to the Grand Chamber, composed of 17 judges, whose verdict will be final.
The “No Maternity Traffic” organization partnered by Alliance VITA, had held a rally on the same day in Strasbourg at the time when the case was examined in order to recall the right of women and children to be protected from GS.