13. Who is recognised as the legal parent(s) of a child born following surrogacy? The surrogate mother is always the legal mother of the child (mater semper certa est). When the surrogate mother is married, her husband will be the legal father of the child. When the surrogate mother is not married, the intended father can claim legal parenthood by acknowledging the child. The only way currently for intended parents to gain full legal parenthood (and for the surrogate mother to end her parenthood) is through adoption (or recognition of the foreign birth certificate or foreign court decision). This would change with the new legislation in preparation; which would allow legal parenthood by the intended parents from the moment of birth of the child.
a. surrogate mother Yes
b. oocyte donor No
c. sperm donor No
d. intended mother No
e. intended father Yes/No
14. Do mechanisms exist to transfer parentage from the surrogate mother to the intended parent(s) (e.g. adoption procedures)? Yes, adoption proceedings. See also the previous answers.
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 Yes/No
17. Are foreign birth certificates in surrogacy cases registered in your country. This depends on what information is on the birth certificate. In general, Dutch law requires the mother who gives birth to be on the birth certificate. (but see earlier answer with reference to jurisprudence deviating from this starting point) As a result, a foreign birth certificate on which the intended parents are listed as the legal parents without mentioning the birth/surrogate mother is not recognized in practice because of a violation of Dutch public policy (ordre public). If this is the case, the birth data can be determined in the Netherlands and included in a (new) birth certificate.