Blog
Rayner my parade! The importance of specialist advice.
Jemma Brimblecombe
14 December 2016
Local authorities roll out new streamlined services for British citizenship and Permanent Residence applications
In recent months the Home Office, in partnership with local authorities, has rolled out a number of new initiatives for those making British citizenship applications and for EEA nationals applying for documents certifying they have acquired Permanent Residence under EU law. These new services offer a number of benefits for applicants, not least the ability to retain an original passport whilst an application is being processed but also speeding up the processing time. Set out in this blog is a brief overview of these new services and the benefits they provide.
13 December 2016
Regulating Relations – parenthood through assisted reproduction in Australia and abroad
Whilst travelling in Sydney, I met Isabel Karpin and Michaela Stockey-Bridge of the University of Technology Sydney who, through Regulating Relations, are conducting the largest Australian research project of its kind: "Forming Families Inside and Outside of the Law".
12 August 2016
The case of Re Z: the pitfalls of informal surrogacy arrangements and the importance of transparency and trust
A recent case before the court provides a timely reminder of the pitfalls and difficulties which can arise as a result of informal surrogacy arrangements.
The case of Re Z [2016] EWFC 34 involved a baby boy (Z) born as a result of an informal surrogacy arrangement. The commissioning parents, a male same sex couple made contact with the eventual surrogate, X, via a Facebook forum. The commissioning parents and potential surrogate met only once and it was at this meeting that they presented X with a typed commercial surrogacy agreement they had found on the internet.
20 June 2016
UK surrogacy law - are we finally on the road to reform?
Surrogacy lawyers were all waiting with baited breath for the decision in the recent Re Z (A child) 2016 EWHC 1191. In this case, a single father made an application for a declaration that the refusal to grant him a parental order was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights/the Human Rights Act.
5 May 2016
The opportunities and pitfalls of surrogacy for same sex couples
Reports last week of a gay couple fighting for custody of their surrogate child gives a harsh warning on the pitfalls of international surrogacy. Happily, the couple have won their custody battle with the surrogate mother, who changed her mind about handing over the child when she discovered the intended parents were a gay couple. The American-Spanish couple entered into a surrogacy arrangement in Thailand where same sex marriage is not recognised. Their child was born in January 2015. Thailand is no longer an option for foreign surrogacy, which since this case has been banned, but we find that when one country closes its borders to international surrogacy, another one opens, and intended parents must be extremely cautious when choosing where to enter into their surrogacy arrangement (and where the child is to be born).
