Avoiding the cross hairs – criminal liability arising from surrogacy arrangements in Hong Kong and the UK

Marcus Dearle's article in Issue 2 of International Family Law Journal 2018 concentrates on the potential criminal liability of legal practitioners surrogate mothers and intended parents ('IPs') under the surrogacy law of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Hong Kong surrogacy law differs in a number of material respects from UK law particularly on the question surrounding payments for the negotiating of surrogacy arrangements and the criminal penalties which might follow. Regulation is considerably stiffer in Hong Kong than in the UK.

The information set out in this article is intended to be of use to legal advisers and compliance teams for law firms based in and outside Hong Kong to assist in ensuring that the expectations of clients are properly managed and that retainers/terms of engagement letters are kept fully up to date and are fit for purpose. It is also intended to assist in ensuring that lawyers do not personally fall foul of the law in connection with surrogacy arrangements and that potential reputation damaging issues affecting lawyers and clients are...

Read the full article here.