Constitutional Court recognises parental rights of gay couple from California

The Czech Constitutional Court has recognised the parental rights of a gay couple and the rights of their child under California law, where the family is based, although they periodically reside in the Czech Republic. In the US,the couple orginally entered into contract with a woman who bore their child and both men were designated as the parents. Issuing the ruling, Judge Kateřina Šimáčková made clear that an earlier Czech Supreme Court decision, recognizing only one of the parents, had infringed on the rights of the other parent and the child under California law. The judge stressed that the Czech Constitutional Court ruling was specific to a particular case under international law and had no bearing on adoption or joint-parenthood by same-sex couples in the Czech Republic. The case will now return to the Supreme Court.

Author: Jan Velinger