In July 2007, the newly amended version of the insurance act was formulated in a neutral way concerning the sexual orientation of cohabitees. The Court therefore unanimously considered that as of July 2007 P.B. and J.S. had no longer been subject to an unjustified difference in treatment as regards the benefit of extending health and accident insurance cover to P.B. and therefore Austria did not breach the Convention after July 2007.
This is the second judgement of the European Court of Human Rights involving the rights of same-sex partners and the Court one again affirmed that “cohabiting same-sex couple living in a stable de facto partnership, falls within the notion of “family life”, just as the relationship of a different-sex couple in the same situation would.”
The European Court of Human Rights made such a historical interpretation of the European Convention of Human Rights just month ago when on 24 June 2010, its delivered its judgement in a case of Schalk and Kopf v. Austria.
Press release of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of P.B. and J.S. v. Austria and full judgement in a case of P.B. and J.S. v. Austria