In Karner v. Austria, Appl. No. 40016/98 (2003), the applicant claimed that the Austrian Supreme Court’s failure to recognize his right to succeed to a tenancy after the death of his male partner amounted to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation that interfered with his right to privacy. The applicant had shared an apartment with his gay partner, who subsequently died from AIDS. His partner designated the applicant as his heir. Under the Austrian Rent Act, domestic partners could succeed to a tenancy after the death of one of the partners. Although recognizing that in certain circumstances that the Austrian government may seek to protect the “traditional family,” the European Court of Human Rights held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the applicant’s case was disproportionate and, hence, a violation of the right against discrimination because the Austrian government had failed to provide any additional justification besides the aim of protecting the traditional family.