The Supreme Court ruled to return to a married couple from the Philippines the twins that a surrogate mother gave birth to in Russia

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ruled to return to biological parents from the Philippines two children born in Russia by a surrogate mother and seized in January 2020. The Castros have been suing the guardianship authorities for three years, and now, after the decision of the Supreme Court, they demand “immediately” to provide Philippine diplomats with access to children. Lawyers believe that the decision of the Supreme Court is significant for all judicial practice in resolving disputes arising in connection with the use of assisted reproductive technologies.

On August 22, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation satisfied the cassation appeal of the governor of one of the Philippine provinces, Fredenil Castro, and his wife, member of the Philippine Parliament, Jane Tan Castro, about custody of twins, who were born for them by a surrogate mother from Russia. He announced this in his Telegram channel head of Rosyurconsulting Konstantin Svitnev. He, note, was arrested in absentia and is on the international wanted list in the case of human trafficking. This is the case of the Investigative Committee aroused after the police found a dead baby in a Moscow apartment in January 2020 – and three other children, a nanny and a surrogate mother. As it turned out, the children were born at the European Surrogacy Center. The biological parents of the twins Anika and Arturo were the Castro spouses; Zandro Ambrosio’s biological father was a Filipino American businessman. Three babies were seized and placed first in the Vidnovsky specialized orphanage, and then in the Dmitrovsky family center in Lobnya, Moscow Region.

“Starting today, the Castros are again considered the legal parents of Anika and Arturo, with all the rights and obligations that follow from this. Immediately after the announcement of the decision of the Supreme Court, the Castro spouses appealed to Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights under the President of the Russian Federation, and to the guardianship authorities, demanding that Anika and Arturo be immediately returned to their family, ”Konstantin Svitnev specified.

He also published a letter from his biological parents to President Vladimir Putin. In it, the spouses demand “immediately” to ensure access to the children of family members and employees of the consulate of the Republic of the Philippines; “immediately” provide up-to-date information about the health status of children and all vaccinations that have been made; prepare children for discharge and inform them when and how to pick them up from the shelter.

“You constantly talk about your love for children, about traditional family values. Well, take care of our children! Just do your job as a guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation,” the appeal says.

The courts have sided with the Castros before, but this did not help them return the children. So, on November 25, 2021, the Vidnovsky City Court of the Moscow Region satisfied the claims of the plaintiffs, denied guardianship in the claim for deprivation of their parental rights and ordered the return of Anika and Arturo. On April 11, 2022, this decision was overturned by the Moscow Regional Court. The family filed an appeal, but to no avail. On December 14, 2022, the First Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Saratov confirmed the annulment of the parents’ records in the twins’ birth certificates. It was this decision that the couple successfully appealed to the Supreme Court.

Maria Spiridonova, a member of the Association of Lawyers of Russia, points out that a court decision that has entered into legal force is subject to strict execution throughout the entire territory of the Russian Federation. The adoption of this decision was not easy for the courts due to the existing difficulties at the legislative level and within the framework of law enforcement practice, adds Vladislav Vatamaniuk, managing partner of the Vatamaniuk & Partners law group: “On the one hand, there is a state policy here, which has recently been expressed in establishing a ban on bearing a fetus by a surrogate mother for foreigners. On the other hand, it is necessary to take into account the legal will of the parties regarding surrogate motherhood, which took place before the amendments to the law “On protecting the health of citizens” came into force.”

Note that the story of the children of the Filipinos and the American has become Starting point to tighten the law on surrogate motherhood in Russia. From December 2022, this service can only be used by Russians – a married man and a woman or a single woman – who, for medical reasons, are not able to give birth to a child on their own.

Viktoria Dergunova, head of the family law and inheritance planning practice at BGP Litigation, believes that the decision of the Supreme Court is not only legal and justified, but also significant for all judicial practice in resolving disputes arising from the use of assisted reproductive technologies: “A surrogate motherhood agreement initially involves that the child is born to be passed on to parents with whom he has a biological connection. And the fact that all lower authorities refused to transfer the child to his parents called into question the existence of this institution in Russia in principle,” says Ms. Dergunova. that’s exactly what happened. A child has the right to know his origin, to live and be brought up in a family, and, above all, in a blood family.” “Kommersant” sent a request for comment to the office of Maria Lvova-Belova, but at the time of publication did not receive a response.

Natalia Kostarnova