International Surrogacy and the Recognition of Parentage Across Borders

Ahead of the next call, I’m sure you’ll all join us in taking the opportunity to thank Alison Green for the commitment, energy and leadership she brought to the Family Law Practice Group, and for the important role she has played driving the Group forward over the years. Her contribution has been genuinely valued, and we are all very grateful for all her support as Chair during her tenure.

Building on that strong foundation, we are delighted to welcome our new co-Chairs Adeeba Naseem (Partner, MI Member firm Mackrell LLP, London), and Petra Šatavová (Partner MI Member firm, MKA Nosko, Czech Republic). They both bring their own experience, enthusiasm and ideas to the Group, and we look forward to working with them as they take it forward and create further opportunities for members to connect, contribute and collaborate.

Please join and meet Adeeba and Petra for the first in a series of Family Law Practice Group Calls on Thursday 15^th October at 2pm BST. 

In what promises to be a call of interest to members worldwide, Adeeba and Petra will be leading a discussion covering International Surrogacy and the Recognition of Parentage Across Borders.

What happens when a child born through surrogacy in one country crosses a border – and the legal definition of their parents’ changes?

With no multilateral framework governing recognition of parentage, international surrogacy can create complex questions around legal status, travel, inheritance and parental responsibility. In this first session of our new series, MI members from different jurisdictions will compare how their national laws approach these issues, explore the impact of public policy and human rights considerations, and highlight the practical challenges facing families and their advisers.

We encourage members to share their experiences and explore the cross-border challenges and the practical considerations they raise for lawyers and clients alike.

As usual, at the end, we would also like to have a short open forum for anyone to bring up topics, make new introductions, or mention issues they would like to discuss, and to suggest topics for future meetings.

Finally, even if you can’t attend the call, but would like to be added to the contact list to receive relevant updates etc, notifications of calls, past videos of calls etc, please email Meryl (mackrell.hq@mackrell.net) to be added.

If you’re a member at any level of any MI member firm, then to register once for the following three calls and to receive a single Zoom link for them all:

Thursday 15th October 2026 2pm BST (UK)

Thursday 21st January 2027 2pm GMT (UK)

Thursday 8th April 2027 2pm BST (UK)

Click here to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/wkBXb1TNQq-RTVAx3-rNEA

The single link you will receive upon registration is valid for all 3 of the calls.

Please ensure you create each of the events in your own calendar (outlook etc) adding the same link to each of the events you create.

For further information please contact Adeeba Naseem Adeeba.Naseem@mackrell.com Petra Šatavová petra.satavova@mkanosko.cz Chris Short chris.short@mackrell.net