In a ruling given on 24th November, the Court of Appeal confirmed the obligation for the OVH host to disconnect from France a Spanish commercial web site offering surrogacy services, which are prohibited in France.
The case has been running since June 2016, at which date the association Juristes pour l’enfance ( Lawyers for children) issued a formal order for the host to remove the criminal site. Found guilty, the host appealed and the Versailles Appeal Court has confirmed the decision by the county court.
The OVH company subsequently countered the ruling “confirming the judgement undertaken compelling the web site in question to be made inaccessible in France”, by claiming freedom of speech.
The Court of Appeal confirmed the ruling and ordered the host to make the web site inaccessible inasmuch as it enables French nationals to access a practice which is illicit in France.
As underlined by the “Juristes pour l’enfance” association in a press release: this decision “represents a breach against the impunity enjoyed until now by the surrogacy merchants, who profit from the poverty of foreign women and the suffering of childless French women.”
Alliance VITA who are striving for the worldwide abolition of surrogacy welcome this decision. It contributes to the awareness of the serious offence caused by the practice of surrogacy on the rights of women and children.
