Surrogacy is forbidden in Switzerland. The Swiss courts only accept the sperm donor as the legal father. A second father, in the case of a same-sex couple, or a mother who did not give birth to the child, in the case of an opposite-sex couple, must always adopt the child first. Only then are they legally considered to be parents.
In 2011, when the boy from this court case was born, same-sex couples in Switzerland still had no opportunity to adopt a child. It was not until 2018, with the introduction of stepchild adoption, that registered partners were able to adopt their partner’s biological child.
The situation today is no longer comparable to that of 2011. Since 2018 there has been the possibility of adoption by the second father or mother. The judgment of the ECtHR is therefore a clear sign that the regulation in the past was not legal. However, this no longer affects current cases.