(HONG KONG) — In a major ruling for the city’s Same-sex, LGBTQ+ population, Hong Kong’s top court ruled on Tuesday that the government should establish a framework for recognizing same-sex couples.
The verdict did not offer same-sex couples full marriage rights, but it was a partial triumph for Jimmy Sham, a prominent pro-democracy activist who had battled a five-year legal battle over the recognition of same-sex marriage registered outside.
Sham married his husband in New York in 2013, claiming that Hong Kong’s rules, which prohibit overseas same-sex marriage, violated his fundamental right to equality.
Equality campaigners said the decision was a step forward that will have a significant impact on the lives of the LGBTQ+ community as well as the financial hub’s reputation as a welcoming location to stay and work.
The Supreme Court’s judges ruled unanimously in a written decision that the government is in breach of its positive commitment to develop an alternative structure 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,” wrote Justice Patrick Keane.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s top court ruled that the government should establish a framework for recognizing same-sex couples.
The court postponed its two-year declaration to provide the administration time to meet its obligations.
However, the judges unanimously rejected Sham’s final appeal on other grounds concerning same-sex marriage and recognition of same-sex partnerships.
Hong Kong only recognizes same-sex marriage for taxation, civil service benefits, and dependant visas. In recent years, many of the government’s concessions have been obtained through court battles, and the city has experienced a growing popular acceptance of same-sex marriage.
According to a report released in May by scholars at The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of North Carolina School of Law, surveys revealed that 60% of respondents support same-sex marriage in 2023, up from 38% in 2013.
Sham’s lawyer, Karon Monaghan, said in a prior hearing that the absence of same-sex marriage in Hong Kong gave the impression that it is less deserving of recognition than heterosexual weddings.
According to Jerome Yau, co-founder of the non-governmental organization Hong Kong Marriage Equality, the verdict clearly states that same-sex partnerships need some recognition and will benefit Hong Kong’s reputation.
“We believe that this judgement will go a long way towards attracting young talent to come to Hong Kong to work and live,” he said.
Hong Kong’s top court ruled on Tuesday that the government should establish a framework for recognizing same-sex couples.
Travis Chow, a Hong Kong resident with a same-sex partner, said he had pondered about their future, but the decision pushed him to seriously consider staying in Hong Kong in the long run.
“This is absolutely happy and encouraging,” he remarked.
According to gender studies researcher Suen Yiu-tong at Chinese University, the court verdict was a significant step towards equality for Asia’s LGBTQ+ community. On the other hand, Suen stated that he was upset that the court did not recognize same-sex marriage.
Sham has been detained after being accused under a national security measure implemented by Beijing in the aftermath of major pro-democracy rallies in 2019. As part of a crackdown on dissent in the former British colony, the law has been used to imprison and silence numerous other pro-democracy campaigners.
Sham was the former convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, which was well-known for years for organizing the yearly protest march on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to the Chinese administration on July 1, 1997.
The group also organized some of the city’s largest political protests in 2019, but it was abolished in 2021 under the shadow of the security bill.
SOURCE – (AP)
