HONG KONG, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s top court partially approved on Tuesday a landmark appeal by an LGBTQ activist for recognition of same-sex marriages, calling for new regulations for gay couples to protect their basic social needs.
The ruling by Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal followed a five-year legal battle fought by jailed democracy and LGBTQ rights activist Jimmy Sham. It was the first time that the court directly addressed the issue of same-sex marriage in the Asian financial hub.
The judges dismissed Sham’s appeal that he had a constitutional right to a same sex marriage in Hong Kong but effectively gave the government two years to ensure that rights, such as access to hospitals and inheritance, could be protected for same-sex couples.
Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, Permanent Judges Roberto Ribeiro, Joseph Fok, Johnson Lam, and Non-Permanent Judge Patrick Keane ruled that marriage freedoms outlined in Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, were confined to opposite sex marriage.
But the judges acknowledged same-sex couples’ need “for access to an alternative legal framework in order to meet basic social requirements.”
Same-sex couples also needed to “have a sense of legitimacy which dispels any sense of them belonging to an inferior class of person whose committed and stable relationships are undeserving of recognition,” the judges wrote.
The Hong Kong government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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