ECHR condemns Italy for violating the rights of a girl born through surrogacy.

The recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which sentences Italy to pay €15,000 in damages and €9,536 in court costs, finds that Italy violated the rights of a girl born through Surrogacy in 2019 in Ukraine by preventing her from being recognised by her biological father. 

The Italian authorities’ refusal to transcribe the child’s birth certificate rendered her stateless. 

Surrogacy is a practice that raises complex legal and ethical issues around the world, and highlights the complexity of finding a compromise between the rights of the individual and national, legal and cultural principles. 

While some countries adopt surrogacy as a solution for couples wishing to have biological children, others, including Italy, prohibit or severely restrict it. 

The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights could have significant implications for Italy and other countries, paving the way for reflection on the need for a new regulation of OGC that can take into account the rights and welfare of all parties involved and, above all, of the children born from this process.

Cecilia Castelazzi