Brno, July 24 (CTK) – Two homosexual men, who are the parents of a now four-year-old child from a surrogate mother according to Californian law, have the right to be recognised as parents in the Czech Republic, the Constitutional Court (US) ruled on Monday.
The Supreme Court is to deal with the case again and it is to comply with their demand.
However, the US said it only dealt with the situation that occurred in connection with a surrogate mother according to foreign legislation. The verdict does not apply to child adoptions by same-sex couples.
The constitutional judges concluded that the rights of the partners and the child were violated.
The best interests of the child take precedence over abstract principles, Judge Katerina Simackova said.
She said the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms definitely protects the family life of the partners and the child.
Petr Kalla, lawyer of the two men, welcomed the verdict.
He said he knows of several same-sex couples who have similar problems in the country and who often let the Czech authorities register only one of them as the parent.
“The Constitutional Court shows that it is necessary to deal with particular children, with their best interests. It seems to me that this is the path that should be taken, either in court or by change of legislation,” Kalla said.
According to the Supreme Court verdict, the child’s relation to one of the parents formally ceased to exist once the family got off the plane in Prague.
The two men, one from Czech and one of Danish origin, have been living in California and they got married according to Californian law. In 2012, they made an agreement with a surrogate mother that delivered a baby for them, using anonymous egg donation and artificial fertilisation. The men do not want to know who of them is the biological father.
The two men travel to the Czech Republic from time to time and they wanted the American verdict to be also recognised in the country, mostly for reasons concerning medical treatment.
In 2015, the Czech Supreme Court recognised the Californian verdict only in relation to the Czech-American and did not comment on the partner in any way. The two men therefore filed another proposal, which the court rejected, arguing that child adoption by a homosexual couple is not possible in the Czech Republic.
Homosexuals may become registered partners under Czech law, but they do not have the same rights as married couples concerning adoption. A US verdict issued last year opened a path to the adoption of a child by one of the homosexual partners. Adoption by both homosexual partners has not been allowed in the country.
