Professor Rob George in P v Q & F (Child: Legal Parentage) [2024] EWCA Civ 878
13th Aug 2024 | Cases
Professor Rob George, instructed by Obaseki Solicitors, led Karen Kabweru-Namulemu (1GC) acting for the appellant in the Court of Appeal in P v Q and F (Child: Legal Parentage) [2024] EWCA Civ 878.
A child’s legal parentage can either be determined by the common law (genetics) or, if the relevant criteria are met, by the legislative scheme of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. The eligibility of the legislative scheme depends in part on the child’s conception having taken place by a mechanism other than sexual intercourse. For unmarried couples, the treatment needs to be at a UK-based clinic, but for married couples (as in this case), the conception can take place anywhere in the world and can be done informally, outside a clinical context. P v Q and F is an important decision setting out the legal approach where there is an evidential gap, such that the method of the child’s conception is unknown. This ground-breaking case is the first of its kind, and highlights serious pitfalls in the legislative scheme that can leave families in precarious and unwanted situations regarding the legal parenthood of their children.
Featured in The Guardian.
