HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s top court ruled on Tuesday that the government should provide a framework for recognising same-sex partnerships in a landmark decision for the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
The ruling did not grant full marriage rights to same-sex couples but was a partial victory for prominent pro-democracy Jimmy Sham, who had fought a five-year legal battle over the recognition of same-sex marriage registered overseas.
Sham married his husband in New York in 2013, and argued that Hong Kong’s laws, which don’t recognise foreign same-sex marriage, violate the constitutional right to equality.
Equality advocates said the judgment was a step forward and will have strong implications for the lives of the LGBTQ+ community and the financial hub’s reputation as an inclusive place to stay and work.
Judges declared in a written ruling that the government is in violation of its positive obligation to establish an alternative framework for legal recognition of same-sex partnerships, such as registered civil partnerships or civil unions. “The absence of legal recognition of their relationship is apt to disrupt and demean their private lives together in ways that constitute arbitrary interference,” Justice Patrick Keane wrote.
The court suspended its declaration for two years to give the government time to comply with its obligation.
But the judges unanimously dismissed Sham’s final appeal on other grounds related to same-sex marriage and recognition of overseas same-sex unions.
Currently, Hong Kong only recognises same-sex marriage for certain purposes such as taxation, civil service benefits and dependent visas.