13. Who is recognised as the legal parent(s) of a child born following surrogacy?
a. surrogate mother -
b. oocyte donor -
c. sperm donor -
d. intended mother Yes
e. intended father Yes
In case the child is born after medically assisted reproduction of a surrogate mother, under the conditions of Civil Code article 1458, it is presumed that the mother is the one who has obtained the Court permission. Declaration to the Birth Registries is done accordingly (Law 344/1976) .
This presumption can be reversed by a legal action contesting the maternity, within six months from the birth of the child. This legal action can be initiated either by the presumed mother or by the surrogate mother, provided that evidence is provided that the child is biologically linked to the latter. The contesting must be proceeded with by the woman entitled to do so personally or by her specially authorized attorney or by the Court permission by her lawful representative. Following the irrevocable Court decision in favour of the legal action, the mother of the child is considered to be the surrogate mother with retroactive effect as from the fact of its birth.
14. Do mechanisms exist to transfer parentage from the surrogate mother to the intended parent(s) (e.g. adoption procedures)? No, parentage transfer is necessary, as surrogacy is legal.
15. Is the existence of a genetic link required for establishing paternity/maternity? No. See question no. 13.
16. Are the other parties involved mentioned in the birth certificate or other official document connected to the birth?
a. surrogate mother -
b. oocyte donor -
c. sperm donor -
d. intended mother Yes
e. intended father Yes
17. Are foreign birth certificates in surrogacy cases registered in your country. Yes. The Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction provides instructions for registering the birth of a child born abroad to the relevant Greek Authority. For this, there must exist affiliation with the Greek State of at least one of the parents of the child. When a child is born abroad, either a birth certificate from a Greek Consulate is required or a birth certificate from the relevant authority of the foreign state. If the foreign birth certificate is issued according to a foreign court order, an official translation of this court order in Greek is required as well as a decision of the Greek court accepting the foreign court decision. These are general provisions, not pertaining specifically to surrogacy. In some countries where surrogacy tourism is thriving, it is required that before the beginning of the procedure, the intended parents provide documentation that the state to which they will turn back permits surrogacy and that it can accept the child as the biological child of the intended parents. Nevertheless, as far as Greek citizens are concerned, (e.g. the commissioning parents or one of them) Greek Embassies abroad cannot issue any documents which are not in line with Greek legislation, since Greece requires a court order for a legal surrogate procedure to begin and since it accepts only partial surrogacy. It is likely, however, that as surrogacy is acknowledged by Greek legislation under certain forms and conditions, any such issue will be settled more easily than in countries where surrogate motherhood is absolutely prohibited.