The news in brief
The Mpumalanga High Court considered the applicants’ customary context alongside the Children’s Act when confirming their agreement. The decision concerns the particular family and does not create a blanket exception to the statutory surrogacy requirements.
The Mpumalanga High Court considered a surrogacy agreement in the applicants’ particular customary context in a judgment dated 21 July 2026, with the text amended on 23 July 2026 (Ex parte PWM, available judgment text). The reported passages concern the legal assessment of that family’s proposed arrangement.
The decision considers customary context alongside the child’s interests and the Children’s Act. It does not establish that every customary community has one position on surrogacy, or that describing an arrangement as customary exempts it from the statutory requirements (paragraphs 20–43).
The wider framework requires a written agreement confirmed by the High Court before fertilisation, together with the applicable domicile, suitability and genetic-link conditions (sections 292–296). A separate appellate decision confirms that a genetic relationship to an existing sibling does not replace the required link to a commissioning parent (KB judgment).
The useful lesson is to read both the family context and the legal conditions. A court’s approval of one agreement is not a general permission for every proposed arrangement.
Going further
This news item is part of a broader topic, which our page South Africa: adoption, child custody, inheritance and IVF covers in detail.
Read the page: South Africa: adoption, child custody, inheritance and IVF