1. Is surrogacy regulated by a specific law in your country? Yes.
The Law on Medically Assisted Reproduction N.69(I) (initially approved by the Cyprus Parliament in 2015). This law has been revised in July 2016 regarding the qualifications of the Members of the Board on Medically Assisted Reproduction. More importantly, however, Article 23 of the 2015 Law has been amended and the details are given below:
- Before the amendment: Both the woman (wishing to have a child) and the surrogate mother-to-be must have had their permanent or usual residency addresses in the Republic of Cyprus.
- After the amendment: In the event that a surrogacy mother cannot be found in the Republic of Cyprus, then the Board on Medically Assisted Reproduction could grant permission for the surrogacy mother not to have a permanent or usual residency address in Cyprus.
2. Is surrogacy regulated in another way? (please specify) Yes.
According to Article 24(1) of the Law [N.69(I)/(2015)], following the appropriate authorization by the Board of Medically Assisted Reproduction a Court order is also required to regulate issues that would lead to the successful implementation of the surrogacy agreement.
3. Has surrogacy been the subject of jurisprudence/court cases in your country? Yes. However, Court Cases in Cyprus, in reference to surrogacy, concern surrogacy disputes that have originated from agreements carried out in other Countries.
4. Is there a legal definition of the term “surrogacy”? (please specify) Yes. According to the Law, surrogacy is the case during which a woman carries and gives birth to a child on behalf of a couple following the transfer, using in-vitro fertilization methods, of an embryo produced with genetic material unrelated to the surrogate mother.