Facts
A.A. and her husband B.A. concluded a surrogacy contract in Georgia with E., a Georgian national. On uu.uu.2019, E. gave birth to the twins C. and D. A.A. and B.A. traveled with the children to Turkey and then back to Switzerland.
The municipal office of the Canton of Zurich ordered the registration of the birth certificates in the civil registry, with E. registered as the mother and B.A. as the father. A.A., B.A., C., D., and E. successfully appealed against this decision to the Judicial Directorate of the Canton of Zurich.
The Federal Department of Justice and Police filed a complaint against the decision of the Judicial Directorate. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich partially upheld the complaint and ordered the full registration in accordance with the decision of the municipal office.
A.A., B.A., C., D., and E. then filed a civil law appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court first examined whether the Georgian birth certificate could be recognized as a foreign decision within the meaning of Art. 70 of the Swiss Private International Law Act (IPRG). It concluded that this was not a decision, but rather the establishment of a parent-child relationship by operation of law.
Since there was no decision within the meaning of Art. 70 IPRG, the Federal Supreme Court examined whether a parent-child relationship had been established under the law applicable to the establishment of the parent-child relationship by descent, i.e., according to…