Gradual adoption law
Federal Constitutional Court, judgment of 19.02.2013 - 1 BoL 1.11, 1BvR 3247/09
The plaintiff made an effort to adopt the adopted child of his registered partner ("successive adoption").
The possibilities for adoption for life partners are settled in § 9 par. 7 life partner's law (LPartG) . Thus, a life partner can adopt the biological child of their life partner ("stepchild adoption").
However, such a successive adoption was not foreseen by the LPartG
According to the Federal Constitutional Court, the § 9 par. 7 LPartG was incompatible with the principle of equal treatment under Art. 3 par. 1 basic law. The Constitutional Court asked the legislature to implement a constitutional provision until 30.06.2014.
The law in order to implement the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on the successive adoption through life partners was published in the Federal Law Gazette I on 20.06.14 and entered into force on 21.6.14.
Refusal to let a private villa to a homosexual wedding parade violates AGG
District Court of Cologne, judgmentof 17.06.2014 - 147 C 68/14
A same-sex couple intended to enter a same-sex partnership in 2014. For this reason, they were looking for suitable premises. Through the Internet they came across a private villa, which is offered and rented for larger festivities of various kinds. The parties submitted an e-mail in July 2013 and agreed that a date be reserved for the couple in August 2014. After a visit date for September 2013 was agreed, the landlord was informed that the planned wedding celebration was about two men. The landlord was grateful that this point was made. He refused the deal for this reason. He used the Kölsche speech (Cologne dialect) "Et is wie et is" (it is as it is).
This refusal constitutes discrimination on the grounds of sexual identity in accordance with section 19 subparagraph 1, sentence 1, and 2 of the AGG. Normally the landlord does not concern himself with the reputation of the persons with whom he concludes the contract when renting his villa. In a variety of cases he has concluded contracts with heterosexual couples. He merely refused to sign a contract with the plaintiffs on the basis of them being in a same-sex partnership.
The District Court of Cologne granted the plaintiffs in each case a compensation payment, in accordance with section 22 paragraph 2 sentence 3 of the AGG, of €750. The landlord appealed, and the District Court of Cologne rejected the appeal and increased the compensation payment to €850 each (Cologne District Court, judgment of 13.11.2015 - 10 S 137/14).