European Court decides Italy violates human rights over gay marriage

This week saw a ground breaking movement for same-sex couples after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) unanimously agreed that Italy must do more to recognise same-sex couples in the eyes of the law.  Support is rapidly increasing for the legal rights of same-sex couples across Europe, which is mirrored in the Italian communities according to recent surveys, which states that the majority of the Italian population supported legal recognition of homosexual couples. 

The European Court heard the case presented to them by Oliari and Others, who were a team of three same-sex couples who have struggled to get any legal recognition of their relationships in Italy.  One of their fundamental arguments was that the Italian legal system failed to recognise one’s family life and status, which is crucial for the existence and well-being of an individual. 

After hearing from both parties, the court stated that current Italian legislation fails to provide for the core needs relevant to a couple in a stable committed relationship due to “a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention of Human Rights”.

Oliari and Others demonstrated how essential legal recognition of same-sex relationships is by arguing how the LGBT community is being discriminated against due to not having the same legal protection as heterosexual couples.  A prime focus was put upon rights to inheritance and taxation benefits, access to medical records, pension  provision, housing, and rights to maintenance, which is a given right to many citizens of European countries spanning across the continent. 

A judgement was made by a chamber of 7 judges which comprised a variety of judicial representatives from across the European states, which included the United Kingdom, Georgia, Albania and Italy itself.  The court commented on the current level of legal protection for same-sex couples, claiming it was “not sufficiently reliable”. 

The obligation for the government to reverse their existing ban on gay marriage in Italy is stressed even further by the trend towards legal recognition of same-sex couples among Council of Europe member States, where 24 out of 47 have already ensured that legislation in favour of such recognition is in force.  In Italy, there is an estimated 1 million gay people living in Central Italy, according to official statistics, which emphasises the importance of such ruling from the European Court recently in highlighting the Italian government’s failure to offer a robust legal framework to support the legal rights of its gay citizens.

In response, the Italian Constitutional Court had highlighted a flaw in their current legal system of having a lack of legal union representation of same-sex couples. With an absence of action by the Italian Parliament in the matter, the European Court has stated:

“In the absence of marriage, the option of a civil union or registered partnership would be the most appropriate way for same-sex couples like the applicants to have their relationship legally recognised.” 

The case of Oliari and Others vs Italy is an irrefutably important decision made by the European Courts, and with the Italian State not arguing once about any morality or social issues with recognising the basic yet fundamental principles of same-sex legal rights in accordance with the ECHR, it is clear that recognition of same-sex unions triumphed.  It is monumental for the LGBT community in Italy that their same-sex relationships will be regarded as a right, as opposed to a privilege.  A protected legal right for the first time in history.