Brussels -- The European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday in Luxembourg that a gay man in Germany was discriminated against on grounds of his sexual orientation when his deceased partner's pension fund refused to pay him on the grounds the two were not married.

"The court rules that the refusal to grant the survivor's pension to life partners constitutes direct discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, if surviving spouses and surviving life partners are in a comparable situation as regards that pension," the court said in its decision.

The Bavarian Administrative Court in Munich must now decide if the man, who was in a legal life partnership with his partner under German law, is in a comparable situation to a spouse entitled to the same pension.

Gay groups in Germany welcomed the ruling.

DPA with Expatica