18. Is there:
a. any public discussion about the topic Yes
b. planning of new regulation at national level Yes
19. Please specify any additional relevant aspects which were not mentioned. An amendment to the recent Law is prepared by the Board of Medically Assisted Reproduction which will be presented for approval to the Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus in 2016.
11. If surrogacy is forbidden, is the conduct of the following persons criminalised by the law?
a. surrogate mother No, unless she is considered guilty of unlawful arrangement of adoption (Chapter 25, Section 3c of the Criminal Code, see excerpt below).
b. intended parent(s) No, unless they have paid or promised to pay remuneration for the gametes or embryos to be used in violation of Section 21 of the Act of Assisted Fertility Treatments, or they are considered guilty of unlawful obtaining of consent to adoption or unlawful arrangement of adoption (Chapter 25, Sections 3b and 3c of the Criminal Code, see excerpts below).
c. gamete donor. No, unless he or she is considered guilty of unlawful obtaining of consent to adoption or unlawful arrangement of adoption (Chapter 25, Sections 3b and 3c of the Criminal Code, see excerpts below
d. facilitator. According to Section 35 of the Act on Assisted Fertility Treatments (1237/2006), a person who intentionally provides assisted fertility treatment although there is reason to presume that the child will be up for adoption, shall be sentenced to a fine for assisted fertility treatment offence. The facilitator is also more likely to be considered to violate the ban on remuneration (Section 35, paragraph 2 of the Act on Assisted Fertility Treatments) and to be considered guilty of unlawful obtaining of consent to adoption and unlawful arrangement of adoption (Chapter 25, Sections 3b and 3c of the Criminal Code).
12. Subject to the applicable law, are you aware of the following unlawful practices in your country? No
a. remuneration of the surrogate
b. remuneration of the gamete donor
c. advertising for surrogacy services
d. remuneration of facilitators
e. any other unlawful practices (please specify)
6. Is access to surrogacy subject to specific criteria?
a. medical criteria (e.g. infertility of the intended parent(s)) NA
b. other criteria (please specify) NA
8. Can the surrogate also be the oocyte donor? NA
18. Is there:
a. any public discussion about the topic. It used to be, see no. 3
b. planning of new regulation at national level No
19. Please specify any additional relevant aspects which were not mentioned. NA
1. Is surrogacy regulated by a specific law in your country? Yes. The law of Georgia on Health Care (LHC) - Chapter XXIII Family Planning.
2. Is surrogacy regulated in another way? (please specify) No
3. Has surrogacy been the subject of jurisprudence/court cases in your country? No
4. Is there a legal definition of the term “surrogacy”? (please specify) No
7. If surrogacy is allowed, is it lawful for the surrogate mother to receive:
a. refund of medical expenses Yes
b. refund of other expenses Yes
c. compensation for loss of income Yes
d. other compensation including non-pecuniary Yes
e. remuneration or comparable advantage No
7. If surrogacy is allowed, is it lawful for the surrogate mother to receive:
a. refund of medical expenses N/A
b. refund of other expenses N/A
c. compensation for loss of income N/A
d. other compensation including non-pecuniary N/A
e. remuneration or comparable advantage N/A
8. Can the surrogate also be the oocyte donor? NA
11. If surrogacy is forbidden, is the conduct of the following persons criminalised by the law? There are no specific provisions in the Lithuanian law regarding criminalization of surrogacy and there have been no legal surrogacy cases in Lithuania.
a. surrogate mother No
b. intended parent(s) No
c. gamete donor No
d. facilitator NA
12. Subject to the applicable law, are you aware of the following unlawful practices in your country?
a. remuneration of the surrogate No
b. remuneration of the gamete donor No
c. advertising for surrogacy services No
d. remuneration of facilitators No
e. any other unlawful practices (please specify) No
13. Who is recognised as the legal parent(s) of a child born following surrogacy? Not applicable. According to § 4:115 (1) of the Civil Code (Act V of 2013) the mother of the child is the woman who has delivered the child. According to section (4) thereof, if the child was born in an assisted reproduction event, the oocyte donor cannot legally apply for the mother status.
a. surrogate mother
b. oocyte donor
c. sperm donor
d. intended mother
e. intended father
14. Do mechanisms exist to transfer parentage from the surrogate mother to the intended parent(s) (e.g. adoption procedures)?
Yes. A birth after surrogacy can happen abroad, in a country where it is lawful. Depending on the specification of the legal mother in the original birth certificate, an adoption procedure may follow in Hungary.
According to the Civil Code, the legal mother cannot be forced to agree to the intended adoption, and the legal decision on the adoption can be withdrawn if a commercial motivation of the adoption comes to light.
15. Is the existence of a genetic link required for establishing paternity/maternity? No. In the case of assisted reproduction the genetic link cannot be complained by the parents, according to the Civil Code, § 4:108 a) for the father, and § 4:115 (4) for the mother.
16. Are the other parties involved mentioned in the birth certificate or other official document connected to the birth? NA
a. surrogate mother
b. oocyte donor
c. sperm donor
d. intended mother
e. intended father
17. Are foreign birth certificates in surrogacy cases registered in your country
9. Is it lawful to advertise surrogacy services? Not regulated by law
10. Is it lawful to remunerate a facilitator/surrogacy agency Not regulated by law
11. If surrogacy is forbidden, is the conduct of the following persons criminalised by the law? For A., B. and D. § 175 on prohibited use of human body of the Criminal Code (Act C of 2012) is relevant. In addition, for a. to d., § 213 on violation of family status are also valid.
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. intended parent(s) Yes
c. gamete donor NA
d. facilitator Yes
12. Subject to the applicable law, are you aware of the following unlawful practices in your country?
a. remuneration of the surrogate No
b. remuneration of the gamete donor No
c. advertising for surrogacy services No
d. remuneration of facilitators No
e. any other unlawful practices (please specify) No
11. If surrogacy is forbidden, is the conduct of the following persons criminalised by the law?
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. intended parent(s)
c. gamete donor
d. facilitator
12. Subject to the applicable law, are you aware of the following unlawful practices in your country?
a. remuneration of the surrogate No
b. remuneration of the gamete donor No
c. advertising for surrogacy services No
d. remuneration of facilitators No
e. any other unlawful practices (please specify) Yes
9. Is it lawful to advertise surrogacy services? No
10. Is it lawful to remunerate a facilitator/surrogacy agency No
8. Can the surrogate also be the oocyte donor? NA
9. Is it lawful to advertise surrogacy services? N/A
10. Is it lawful to remunerate a facilitator/surrogacy agency No
13. Who is recognised as the legal parent(s) of a child born following surrogacy?
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. oocyte donor No
c. sperm donor No
d. intended mother No
e. intended father No
14. Do mechanisms exist to transfer parentage from the surrogate mother to the intended parent(s) (e.g. adoption procedures)? Yes. Adoption procedures
15. Is the existence of a genetic link required for establishing paternity/maternity? No
16. Are the other parties involved mentioned in the birth certificate or other official document connected to the birth?
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. oocyte donor No
c. sperm donor No
d. intended mother No
e. intended father No
17. Are foreign birth certificates in surrogacy cases registered in your country No
6. Is access to surrogacy subject to specific criteria? See answer to question 2.
a. medical criteria (e.g. infertility of the intended parent(s))
b. other criteria (please specify)
18. Is there:
a. any public discussion about the topic Yes
b. planning of new regulation at national level Yes
19. Please specify any additional relevant aspects which were not mentioned.
Draft proposal on surrogacy from Iceland
Background
Main elements of the proposed Icelandic legislation on Altruistic Surrogacy