Activities of Gilles LEBRETON related to 2022/0402(CNS)
Plenary speeches (1)
Jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition of decisions and acceptance of authentic instruments in matters of parenthood and creation of a European Certificate of Parenthood (debate)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (47)
Amendment 54 #
Draft legislative resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the EU Strategy for Gender Equality (2019/2169(INI)),
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a regulation
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
– having regard to Articles 1, 3(2)(c), 5(1) and 5(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
Amendment 56 #
Proposal for a regulation
Citation 1 b (new)
Citation 1 b (new)
– having regard to Article 1 of the UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery,
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) As a result of the absence of Union provisions on international jurisdiction and applicable law for the establishment of parenthood in cross-border situations and on the recognition of parenthood between Member States, fFamilies may encounter difficulties in having the parenthood of their children recognised for all purposes within the Union, including when they move to another Member State or return to their Member State of origin.
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Children derive a number of rights from parenthood, including the right to an identity, a name, nationality (where governed by ius sanguinis), custody and access rights by their parents, maintenance rights, succession rights and the right to be legally represented by their parents. The non-recognition in a Member State of the parenthood established in another Member State can have serious adverse consequences on children’s fundamental rights and on the rights that theychildren derive from national law. This may prompt families to start litigationbe resolved through administrative or judicial proceedings to have the parenthood of theira child recognised in another Member State, although t. Those proceedings have uncertain results and involve significant time and costs for both families and the Member States’ judicial systems. Ultimately, families may be deterred from exercising their right to free movement for fear that the parenthood of their child will not be recognised in another Member State for the purposes of rights derived from national lawensure the necessary balance between the child’s interests and rights, and respect for the host Member State’s judicial system.
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18 a (new)
Recital 18 a (new)
(18a) However, in its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the EU Strategy for Gender Equality, Parliament acknowledged that sexual exploitation for surrogacy is unacceptable and a violation of human dignity and human rights.
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) Pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (‘TEU’), respect for human dignity, equality and non- discrimination are amongst the values on which the Union is founded and which are common to the Member States. Articles 1, 3(2)(c), 5(1) and 5(3) of the Charter provide that human dignity is inviolable, that the human body and its parts as such must not be made a source of financial gain, that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude, and that trafficking in human beings is prohibited; Article 21 of the Charter prohibits discrimination on grounds of, amongst others, birth. Article 3 TEU and Article 24 of the Charter provide for the protection of the rights of the child, and Article 7 of the Charter provides for everyone’s right to respect for their private and family life.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) This Regulation shouldall not apply to the establishment of parenthood in a Member State in a domestic situation with no cross-border elements. This Regulation should not therefore include provisions on jurisdiction or applicable law for the establishment of parenthood in domestic cases, such as the parenthood of a child further to a domestic adoption in a Member State. However, in order to safeguard children’s rights without discrimination in cross-border situations as laid down in the Charter, in application of the principle of mutual trust between Member States as confirmed by the Court of Justice, the provisions of this Regulation on the recognition or, as the case may be, acceptance of court decisions and authentic instruments on parenthood should also apply to the recognition of parenthood established in a Member State in domestic situations, such as the parenthood established in a Member State further to a domestic adoption in that Member State. The provisions of this Regulation concerning the relevant attestation and the European Certificate of Parenthood should therefore also apply as regards the parenthood established in a Member State in domestic situations, such as further to a domestic adoption in a Member State.
Amendment 125 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) The requirements for the recording of parenthood in a register shouldall be excluded from the scope of this Regulation. It should therefore be the law of the Member State in which the register is kept that shouldall determine under what legal conditions and how the recording must be carried out, and which authorities are in charge of checking that all requirements are met and that the documentation presented or established is sufficient or contains the necessary information. In order to avoid duplication of documents, the national registration authorities should accept the documents drawn up in another Member State by the competent authorities whose circulation is provided for by this Regulation. In particular, the European Certificate of Parenthood issued under this Regulation should constitute a valid document for the recording of parenthood in a register of a Member State. As the procedure for the issuance of the European Certificate of Parenthood and its contents and effects should be uniform in all Member States as set out in this Regulation, and the European Certificate of Parenthood should be issued in conformity with the rules on jurisdiction and applicable law laid down in this Regulation, the authorities involved in the registration should not require that the European Certificate of Parenthood be first transposed into a national document on parenthood. This should not preclude the authorities involved in the registration from confirming the conditions necessary to establish the authenticity of the European Certificate of Parenthood or from asking the person applying for registration to provide such additional information as required under the law of the Member State in which the register is kept, provided that information is not already included in the European Certificate of Parenthood. The competent authority may indicate to the person applying for registration how the missing information can be provided. The effects of recording the parenthood in a register (for example, depending on the national law, whether registration establishes parenthood or only provides evidence of the parenthood already established) should also be excluded from the scope of this Regulation and be determined by the law of the Member State in which the register is kept.
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) Notwithstanding the differences in national laws, parenthood is typically established by operation of law or by an act of a competent authority. Examples of the establishment of parenthood by operation of law include parenthood by birth as regards the person giving birthmother, and parenthood by legal presumption as regards the spouse or the registered partner of the person giving birthmother. Examples of the establishment of parenthood by an act of a competent authority include the establishment of parenthood by a court decision (such as in adoption, or in proceedings where parenthood is contested, or in proceedings where parenthood is claimed, for example by proving a possession of state), by a notarial deed (for example, in adoption or where the child is not yet born), by an administrative decision (for example, after an acknowledgment of paternity) or by registration. Parenthood is typically registered in the civil, personal or population register. Evidence of parenthood can be provided by the document establishing the parenthood (such as the court decision, the notarial deed or the administrative decision establishing parenthood). However, evidence of parenthood is most often provided by the registration of the parenthood in the register itself, by an extract from the relevant register or by a certificate containing the information registered in the relevant register (such as a birth certificate or a parenthood certificate).
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 35
Recital 35
(35) The smooth and correct functioning of a Union area of justice with respect for the Member States’ different legal systems and traditions is fundamental for the Union. In that regard, mutual trust in one another’s justice systems should be further enhancedand the mutual trust of Member States in one another’s justice systems require respect for the Member States’ different legal systems and traditions.
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) This Regulation shouldall respect the different systems for dealing with parenthood matters in the Member States. As regards 'authentic instruments', Member States often empower authorities, such as notaries, administrative authorities or registrars to draw up authentic instruments establishing parenthood with binding legal effect in the Member State in which they have been drawn up or registered (‘authentic instruments with binding legal effect’), or to draw up authentic instruments which have no binding legal effect in the Member State in which they have been drawn up or registered but which have evidentiary effects in that Member State (‘authentic instruments with no binding legal effect’). The term ‘empowerment’ in this Regulation is to be interpreted autonomously in accordance with the definition of ‘authentic instrument’ used horizontally in Union instruments and in the light of the objectives of this Regulation.
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) To safeguard the child’s interests, jurisdiction should be determined according to the criterion of proximity. Consequently, where possible jurisdiction should lie with the Member State of the habitual residence of the child’s parents. However, in order to facilitate the child’s access to justice in a Member State, alternative jurisdiction should also be granted to the Member State of the nationality of the child, to the Member State of the habitual residence of the respondent (for example, the person in respect of whom the child claims parenthood), to the Member State of the habitual residence of any of the parents, to the Member State of the nationality of any of the parents or to the Member State of the child’s birth.
Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Recital 40
(40) In accordance with the case law of the Court of Justice, the child’s place of habitual residence must be established on the basis of all the circumstances specific to each individual case. In addition to the physical presence of the child in the territory of a Member State, other factors must be chosen which are capable of showing that that presence is not in any way temporary or intermittent and that it reflects some degree of integration of the child into a social and family environment, which is the place which, in practice, is the centre of that child’s life. Such factors include the parents’ place of habitual residence, the duration, regularity, conditions and reasons for the child’s stay on the territory of the Member State concerned and the child’s nationality, with the relevant factors varying according to the age of the child concerned. They also include the place and conditions of the child’s attendance at school, and the family and social relationships of the child in the Member State. The intention of the parents to settle with the child in a given Member State may also be taken into account where that intention is manifested by tangible steps, such as the purchase or lease of a residence in the Member State concerned. By contrast, the nationality of the person giving birth or the previous residence of this person in the Member State of the court seised is not relevant, whereas the fact that the child was born in that Member State and holds the nationality of that Member State is insufficient.
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 46
Recital 46
Amendment 166 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 51
Recital 51
(51) As a rule, the law applicable to the establishment of parenthood in cross- border situations should be the law of the State of the habitual residence of the person giving birthmother at the time of birth. This connecting factor should ensure that the applicable law can be determined in the vast majority of cases, including as regards a new-born, whose habitual residence may be difficult to establish. The time of birth should be interpreted strictly, referring to the most frequent situation in which parenthood is established upon birth by operation of law and registered in the relevant register within a few days following birth. That law should apply both to situations in which the person giving birthmother has the habitual residence in the State of birth (as would be the typical situation) and also to situations in which tshe person giving birth has the habitual residence in a State other than the State of birth (for example, when birth occurs while travelling). The law of the State of the habitual residence of the person giving birthmother at the time of birth should apply, by analogy, where the parenthood of the child needs to be established before the child is born. To ensure that the applicable law can be determined in all circumstances, the law of the State of birth of the child should apply in the rare cases where the habitual residence of the person giving birthmother at the time of birth cannot be established (for example, in the case of a refugee or an internationally displaced mother).
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 53
Recital 53
Amendment 173 #
(54) To ensure legal certainty and the continuity of parenthood, where parenthood has been established in a Member State in accordance with one of the laws designated as applicable by this Regulation, the change of applicable law as a result of a change of the habitual residence of the person who gave birthmother or of the nationality of either parent should not affect the parenthood already established.
Amendment 178 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 56
Recital 56
(56) Considerations of public interest should allow courts and other competent authorities establishing parenthood in the Member States to disregard, in exceptional circumstances, certain provisions of a foreign law where, in a given case, applying such provisions would be manifestly incompatible with the public policy (ordre public) of the Member State concerned. However, the courts or other competent authorities should not be able to apply the public policy exception in order to set aside the law of another State when doing so would be contrary to the Charter and, in particular, Article 21 thereof, which prohibits discrimination.
Amendment 288 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 1
1. ‘parenthood’ means the parent- child relationship established in law and recognised in all Member States. It includes the legal status of being the child of a particular parent or parents;
Amendment 300 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 6 – point b a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point 6 – point b a (new)
(ba) is not manifestly inconsistent with the general principles of international law, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child;
Amendment 302 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
This Regulation shall cannot affect the competence of the authorities of the Member States to deal with parenthood matters or make decisions regarding the recognition of parenthood when it is at odds with their national law or where parenthood has been recognised on the basis of instruments that violate international or EU law.
Amendment 304 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
In matters relating to parenthood, in order of priority, jurisdiction shall lie with the courts of the Member State:
Amendment 307 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) of the habitual residenclegal domicile of the child's parents at the time the court is seised, or
Amendment 309 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) of the nationality of the child at the time the court is seised, or
Amendment 348 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 2
Article 22 – paragraph 2
2. Paragraph 1 shall be applied by the courts and other competent authorities of the Member States in accordance with the general principles of international law, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in observance of the fundamental rights and principles laid down in the Charter, in particular Article 21 thereof on the right to non- discrimination1, 3 and 5 thereof.
Amendment 352 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 1
Article 24 – paragraph 1
1. A court decision on parenthood given in a Member State shall be recognised in all other Member States without any special procedure being required, in compliance with the general principles of international conventions and EU law, including the principle of non- discrimination, women’s rights and the ban on human trafficking.
Amendment 356 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 2
Article 24 – paragraph 2
2. In particular, no special procedure shall be required forThe updating of the civil- status records of a Member State on the basis of a court decision on parenthood given in another Member State and against which no further appeal lies under the law of that Member State. may be subject by the former Member State to a review of compliance with the fundamental principles set out in the relevant international conventions, EU law and its own national law.
Amendment 373 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The recognition of a court decision shall in particular be refused:
Amendment 376 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) if such recognition is manifestly contrary to the public policy of the Member State in which recognition is invoked, taking into account the child’s interests;
Amendment 391 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 1
Article 32 – paragraph 1
1. The procedure for making an application for refusal of recognition shall, in so far as it is not covered by this Regulation, be governed by the law of the Member State in which proceedings for non- recognition are brought.
Amendment 392 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 2
Article 32 – paragraph 2
Amendment 395 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 5
Article 32 – paragraph 5
5. The court may, where necessary, require the applicant to provide a translation or transliteration of the court order or of the translatable content of the free text fields of the appropriate attestation issued pursuant to Article 29.
Amendment 396 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 6
Article 32 – paragraph 6
Amendment 409 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 1
Article 36 – paragraph 1
Amendment 414 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 1
Article 37 – paragraph 1
1. The competent authority of the Member State of origin as communicated to the Commission pursuant to Article 71 shall, upon application by a party, issue an attestation for an authentic instrument establishing parenthood with binding legal effect using the form set out in Annex II.
Amendment 420 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 5
Article 37 – paragraph 5
5. If the attestation is not produced, the authentic instrument shall not, a priori, be recognised in another Member State.
Amendment 424 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 39 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) if such recognition is manifestly contrary to the public policy of the Member State in which recognition is invoked, taking into account the child’s interests;
Amendment 431 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 2
Article 39 – paragraph 2
2. Point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be applied by the courts and other competent authorities of the Member States in accordance with the general principles of international law, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in observance of the fundamental rights and principles laid down in the Charter, in particular Article 21 thereof on the right to non-discrimination1, 3 and 5 thereof.
Amendment 439 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 40 – paragraph 1
Article 40 – paragraph 1
The jurisdiction of the court of the Member State of origin establishing parenthood may not be reviewed. The test of public policy referred to in point (a) of Article 31(1) may not be applied to the rules relating to jurisdiction set out in Articles 6 to 9.
Amendment 443 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 41 – paragraph 1
Article 41 – paragraph 1
Amendment 456 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 45 – paragraph 2
Article 45 – paragraph 2
2. The public policy (ordre public) referred to in paragraph 1 shall be applied by the courts and other competent authorities of the Member States in accordance with the general principles of international law, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in observance of the fundamental rights and principles laid down in the Charter, in particular Article 21 thereof on the right to non-discrimination1, 3 and 5 thereof.
Amendment 460 #
Proposal for a regulation
Chapter VI – title
Chapter VI – title
VI EUROPEAN CERTIFICATE OF PARENTHOOD. chapter deleted
Amendment 544 #
Proposal for a regulation
Chapter VIII – title
Chapter VIII – title
VIII DELEGATED ACTS. chapter deleted
Amendment 548 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 66 – paragraph 1
Article 66 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation shall not affectbe without prejudice to the provisions of the international conventions to which one or more Member States are party at the time when this Regulation is adopted and which lay down provisions on matters governed by this Regulation.
Amendment 604 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV
Annex IV
Amendment 622 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex V
Annex V