Title: Marriages between homosexuals in the Strasbourg jurisprudence

Date: 11/05/2010

Subject: With the decision on the case Schalk and Kopf, filed June 24, 2010 (app. n.310141/04) the Strasbourg Court held that Article 12 (right to marry) of the European Convention on Human Rights does not impose an obligation to the States Parties to provide access to marriage to same-sex couples and ruled that a different basis of the right to marry cannot be found in the body of the Convention - which also must always be read in its entirety - in conjunction with Articles 14 (prohibition of discrimination) and 8 (right to respect for private and family life) (para. 101). The Court stated, for the first time, clearly, that the same-sex relationship is within the concept of "family life" under Article 8 ECHR.

Original language: Italian

Classification: Freedoms - Art. 9 Right to marry - Equality - Art. 21 Non discrimination

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