Conference "Protecting Family Life and Children’s Rights" organised by the Academy of European Law (ERA)

24-25 February 2026 (online)

Sarah FILIPPI, Erika BERNARDI, partners, and Nathalie BLANGERO, senior associate in charge of the Family Law Department at 99 AVOCATS ASSOCIÉS, attended the conference organised by the Academy of European Law (ERA) on the theme "Protecting Family Life and Children’s Rights - Insights from Recent ECtHR Case Law".

Monaco is a member of the Council of Europe and a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has a direct impact on Monegasque law, both at the legislative and judicial levels.

Careful monitoring of ECHR case law is part of the commitment to excellence that guides our practice of family law in defending our clients' interests.

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Conference programme:

I. THE HEARING OF THE CHILD: FOCUS ON CHILD ABDUCTION

• The influence of the ECtHR on international child abduction law
• Procedural safeguards in international child abduction cases:
  cutting-edge case law with a focus on M.P. v Greece
• Right of the child to be heard and the duties of the child’s representative in judicial proceedings
• Hands-on experience and exchange: The protection of the rights and best interests of the child in abduction proceedings

II. GENDER REASSIGNMENT

• Gender identity issues in recent ECtHR case law

III. BECOMING A CO-MOTHER

• Navigating co-motherhood in recent ECtHR judgments

IV. FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION

• Current ECtHR rulings on foster care and adoption

V. SURROGACY

• The impact of surrogacy on women and children in light of international human rights standards
• Surrogacy in landmark decisions of the ECtHR
• Recent developments on surrogacy in national legislations

Source : Protecting Family Life and Children’s Rights - ERA - Academy of European Law

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