Court name: Supreme Administrative Court
State: Poland
Date of decision:
Legal instruments: Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), European Union law, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
Key aspects: Access to social and economic rights, Acquisition of nationality, Birth registration, Deprivation of nationality, Determination/confirmation of nationality, Discrimination, Gender, LGBTIQ families, Respect for private and family life, Surrogacy & reproductive technology
The applicant was born in the US, and his birth certificate indicated a Polish national as the father, and an unknown surrogate mother as the mother. Polish authorities refused to confirm the applicant acquired Polish nationality at birth as a child of a Polish parent, because the birth certificate is against the Polish public order, in particular the prohibition of surrogacy. The courts ruled in favour of the applicant, stating that confirmation of his Polish nationality on the basis of the birth certificate does not amount to validation of surrogacy.