Recognition of same-sex unions in Austria

Registered partnerships (Eingetragene Partnerschaft) have been legal in Austria since 1 January 2010.

On 24 July 2003, the European Court of Human Rights published its decision in Karner v. Austria, which was submitted on 24 July 1997. The applicant, who died in 2000 while the case was pending, was taken to court in 1995 by his landlord who wanted to terminate the tenancy after Karner's same-sex partner died. Austrian law provided that family members had a right to succeed to a tenancy. While the case was initially dismissed in lower courts, the Constitutional Court of Austria ruled in favour of the landlord, saying the notion of "life companion" (Lebensgefährte) was only applicable to persons of the opposite sex. The European Court of Human Rights considered this ruling in violation of the anti-discrimination provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. Following this decision, cohabiting same-sex partners are entitled to the same rights as unmarried cohabiting opposite-sex partners.

During this period, the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and The Greens were in opposition while the government was led by the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). Both centre-left parties called for the recognition of same-sex unions. First, in June 2004, The Greens proposed a "Zivilpakt" () modelled after the French civil solidarity pact (PACS). In December 2004, the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) adopted a major policy decision on the issue of equal treatment of same-sex couples. In addition to calling for the introduction of registered partnerships, the party supported the investigation of opening marriage for same-sex couples. In May 2005, The Greens became the first major party to expressly call for the legalisation of same-sex marriage. The Greens praised the June 2005 referendum in Switzerland legalising registered partnerships and called for equal rights in Austria. In April 2006, the Vienna branch of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) followed the Greens in explicitly calling for the legalisation of marriage and adoption for same-sex couples.

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