DESPRE LIPSA UNUI DREPT AL BUNICILOR LA URMAŞI: ÎNVĂŢĂMINTELE DECIZIEI CEDO ÎN CAUZA PETITHORY LANZMANN CONTRA FRANŢEI
ON THE LACK OF A GRANDPARENTS' RIGHT TO DESCENDANTS: THE LESSONS OF THE ECHR DECISION IN THE CASE OF PETITHORY LANZMANN V. FRANCE

Summary/Abstract: In a case concerning the applicant’s request to have her deceased son’s sperm cells transferred to an establishment capable of arranging medically assisted reproduction or gestational surrogacy, the European Court of Human Rights declared the application inadmissible in view of the fact that Article 8 from the European Convention on Human Rights did not guarantee a right to become a grandparent, however worthy the applicant’s personal aspiration to continue the genetic line. The Court took particular account of the fact that, from the elements of the case, it does not appear that the deceased would have authorized his mother to use his sperm cells for post mortem insemination. The Court also held that the applicant's inability to be a grandmother did not prejudice the rights guaranteed by article 8 of the Convention, taking into account the interests underpinning French law: remedying the pathological infertility of a couple. This case is relevant not only from the perspective of the right to respect for private and family life, but especially from the point of view of succession planning in the sense of ensuring an offspring by means of a posthumous fertilization. The success of such a plan will depend primarily on the provisions of the law applicable to the sperm bank, which is why the depositor should consider the most favourable legislation for the successful completion of such an endeavour, which necessarily implies law shopping.

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