Czech Republic, 10 June 2011 - Viktorie Plivove, the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs has confirmed that the recent successful application by a man in a registered same-sex relationship to foster a child was the first of its kind.

Luxembourg, 10 May 2011 - The Court of Justice of the European Union has released its judgment in Case C-147/08, Jürgen Römer v. Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, in which it held that if the partnership is reserved to persons of the same gender and if it is in a legal and factual situation comparable to that of marriage; a supplementary retirement pension paid to a partner in a civil partnership, which is lower than that granted in a marriage, may constitute discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

Switzerland, 5 May 2011 - The Supreme Court rejected an application  by a lesbian woman for second parent adoption of her partner's child. One hurdle for the women was the fact that stepchild adoption is only available to married couples after five years' of marriage. The applicant's had only been in a registered partnership for three years.

It must be noted in this connexion that registered partnerships have only been available to same sex couples since 2007.

Czech Republic, 1 Feb 2011 – A new civil code, intended to comprehensively govern all private-law relationships has now passed through the ministerial comments procedure. The code is intended to cover all private law relations between individuals and contains a Civil Code, Business Code, and Family Law code which includes adoption.

Hamburg, 31 Jan 2011 – The Court of Appeal of Hamburg, Germany, decided to ask the Federal Constitutional Court whether the prohibition to subsequent adoption of the life-partner's adoptive child is inconstitutional [Kostenlose-Urteile.de report, in German; the decision on the EJ database, in German].