The European Court of Human Rights has refused permission to appeal in a challenge to the ban on gay marriage in Austria. The effect of the decision is to make the court’s rejection of the same-sex couple’s claim final.
The decision means that the European Court of Human Rights will not force states to allow same-sex couples to marry, for now at least. This has a potential bearing on the UK, where a number of same-sex and heterosexual couples are currently bringing claims against UK laws which permit civil partnerships for same-sex couples but prevents them from marrying.
Horst Michael Schalk and Johann Franz Kopf claimed that the Austrian system – which from 1 January 2010 allowed for “registered” partnerships along similar lines to civil partnerships in the UK – breached their human rights. Specifically, they argued that the laws breached their article 12 “right to marry and found a family”, their article 8 rights to family life and their article 14 rights to be protected from discrimination.
Full Story from The UK Human Rights Blog
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