HONG KONG: In a partial victory for the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer( LGBTQ ) community on Tuesday( Sep 5) the top court of Hong Kong ruled in favor of same-sex partnerships including civil unions but stopped short of granting full marriage rights.
LGBTQ protesters in the former British colony have gradually prevailed in court over the past ten years, overturning unfair state laws regarding permits, taxes, and housing benefits.
However, the case brought by imprisoned pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Sham is the first moment the same-sex marriage problem has been immediately addressed by Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal.
The Hong Kong government” is in violation of its beneficial responsibility… to create an alternative model for constitutional recognition of same-sex partnerships ,” the judge ruled.
However, it fell short of deciding on complete union justice for same-sex people.
According to the court’s decision, it” universally dismisses the charm in relation” to same-sex relationship and recognition of unusual such-asleep marriage.
While LGBTQ advocacy faces political obstacles on the mainland of China, the inhabitants of semi-autonomous Hong Kong is becoming more and more in favor of same-sex marriage.
According to a survey conducted this year, 60 % of Hong Kongers supported same-sex marriage, up from just 38 % ten years ago.
Sham, 36, had twice failed to persuade the courts that Hong Kong may recognize his relationship to a same-sex companion, which was registered in New York nearly ten years prior, with his concern.
The constitutional text of Hong Kong” only provides access to the institution of marriage to heterosexual couples ,” according to appeal judges in August 2022.
Sham had argued that the state’s restrictions on same-sex organizations violated his right to equality while the absence of a policy solution, such as legal union membership, does the same in addition to infringing on his secrecy.
In June, Sham’s attorney for American rights Karon Monaghan informed the court that same-sex couples are harmed by the ban in areas like inheritance and housing rentals.
Sham, a well-known advocate for democracy, is one of many activists who are currently incarcerated pending security law prosecution on charges related to LGBTQ rights.