Facts
The case concerns the recognition of an adoption carried out in Germany in 1965. The appellant, [A.X.] , was adopted in Switzerland in 1957 by [B.X.] and his wife C.X.-[Z.] . In 1965, the adoption was repeated in Germany, as the original adoption contract was deemed invalid due to a formal error. After the death of [C.X.] in 2007, the executor was informed that the adoption carried out in Germany in 1965 would not be recognized in Switzerland. The appellant then filed a complaint with the aim of having the adoption recognized and entered in the Swiss civil status registers.
Considerations
The Federal Court states that the PILA is decisive for the recognition of a foreign adoption in Switzerland, even if the adoption took place before its entry into force. According to Art. 78(1) PILA, foreign adoptions are recognized in Switzerland if they were pronounced in the state of residence or in the home state of the adopting person or the adopting spouses.
The Federal Court finds that it is unclear whether [C.X.] still had German nationality at the time of the 1965 adoption or whether she had lost it through her marriage to Swiss citizen [B.X.] . This is a decisive…