Jürgen Römer v. Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, Case C-147/08, CJEU (Grand Chamber), 10 May 2011

A method of calculating the pension favouring married recipients over those living in a registered life partnership creates a discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Directive 2000/78/EC of the Council of 27 November 2000

Article 1 in conjunction with Articles 2 and 3(1)(c) of Directive 2000/78 preclude a provision of national law under which a pensioner who has entered into a registered life partnership receives a supplementary retirement pension lower than that granted to a married, not permanently separated, pensioner, if a) in the Member State concerned, marriage is reserved to persons of different gender while it exists alongside a registered life partnership reserved to persons of the same gender, and b) there is direct discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation because, under national law, that life partner is in a legal and factual situation comparable to that of a married person as regards that pension. It is for the referring court to assess the comparability, focusing on the respective rights and obligations of spouses and persons in a registered life partnership, as governed within the corresponding institutions, which are relevant taking account of the purpose of and the conditions for the grant of the benefit in question.