Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Re Z [2025] EWHC 339 (Fam) (England and Wales): President warns on unlawful commercial foreign surrogacy; statelessness and parental responsibility risks; adoption orders on facts, not precedent

Published on: 25 March 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert

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Article summary

Re Z (Unlawful Foreign Surrogacy—Adoption) [2025] EWHC 339 (Fam) What are the practical implications of this case?

A stark warning to anyone contemplating unlawful, commercial surrogacy overseas, this judgment candidly exposes the legal hazards they are likely to encounter in practice. The children central to the proceedings met significant obstacles when attempting to return to the UK alongside their intended parents: persistent problems arose with the registration of their births abroad, and the consequence was that, for years, they remained stateless and with nobody able to exercise parental responsibility for either child. Their journey home was impeded, and bureaucratic hurdles around recognition of their births produced prolonged uncertainty. Throughout that period, no adult held lawful authority to make decisions on their behalf. In addition, the court questioned the wisdom of the applicants in proceeding with a surrogacy arrangement where one applicant was over 70 and her partner was rapidly approaching that age. The court observed that the endeavour appeared entirely self-serving and devoid of thought for the children’s long-term welfare, should any result (para [33])...

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