The judges of the First Senate announce the verdict on the paternity challenge.
Image: dpa
The Federal Constitutional Court's ruling shows that if the legislature were to completely separate family law from its biological core, it would be taking the wrong path.
Dhe Federal Constitutional Court's decision on the paternity challenge can be interpreted in different ways. On the one hand, the Karlsruhe judges are allowing the legislature to make more than two people legal parents in the future. If you want, you can see this as a departure from traditional family ideas.
But the central message of the ruling is different: unlike before, the Karlsruhe judges expressly recognize the basic parental rights of biological fathers. The legislature may not prevent them from challenging the legal paternity of another man because he lives in the same household as a mother and child. This decision is correct.