Facts
Spouses Y. had a daughter in 1971. After their divorce in 1985, the mother cohabited with X., her partner. In 2000, when the daughter was 29 years old, the partner adopted the daughter with the agreement of the daughter and her mother. This adoption resulted in the termination of the maternal filiation. The daughter and the mother opposed this termination and requested the restoration of the maternal filiation. The Federal Tribunal ultimately upheld the appeal of the Federal Office of Justice and decided that the adoption should be registered and the maternal filiation terminated.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considered that Swiss law excludes the joint adoption of a child by cohabitants, as well as the adoption of the cohabitant's child. Adoption by a cohabitant could only be considered as an adoption by a single person within the meaning of Art. 264b para. 1 CC, which terminates the filiation with the parent. An analogous application of Art. 264a para. 3 CC to the cohabitant is not an option, nor is the admission of a genuine gap that should be filled.
The Federal Tribunal also held that…