The Civil Registry Office of Berlin must register both parts of a lesbian couple as parents

BGH (Bundesgerichtshof), resolution from April 20, 2016 – XII ZB 15/15; KG Berlin

About the case: One mother of the child has the German and the South African citizenship. She is married (civil union type marriage) to a woman who only has the South African nationality. The latter gave birth to the child, in 2010. This was done with the help of an anonymous sperm donor. The Berlin registry office has denied that the child be entered in the register of births.

Wrongfully, the federal Court has now ruled:

The appeal court considers that the registration after the fact is required by §§ 9 I, 10, 21, 36 II personal statue law (PStG). The child had acquired German citizenship in accordance with § 4 II sentence 1 of the personal statute law by birth, as the women with the German citizenship was also its parent.