アイルランド：裁判所はカナダの同性婚を承認せず

Lesbian couple lose Irish marriage recognition case
Thu Dec 14, 11:28 AM ET
Reuters

A lesbian couple living in Ireland have lost a landmark court case to have their marriage recognised there.

Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan, who married in Canada in 2003, took legal action after Irish Revenue Commissioners refused to recognize them as a couple for tax purposes.

They argued that not recognizing their marriage breached their rights under the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Justice Elizabeth Dunne rejected that argument on Thursday.

"The right sought by the plaintiffs was the right to marry," Dunne said in a written judgment.

"...I do not think that it is a right which exists for same sex couples either under the Irish Constitution or under the European Convention."

Same sex partnerships and marriages currently have no legal status in Ireland although Justice Minister Michael McDowell said earlier this year the government would propose new laws recognizing same sex couples in the next 12 months.

However, he said the legislation would fall short of allowing marriage.

Family law in predominantly Catholic Ireland, where homosexuality was illegal until 1993, has struggled to keep up with the rapid pace of social change heralded by more than a decade of rapid economic growth.

"Undoubtedly people in the position of the plaintiffs, be they same sex couples or heterosexual couples, can suffer great difficulty or hardship in the event of the death or serious illness of their partners," Dunne said in her judgment.

"It is to be hoped that the legislative changes to ameliorate these difficulties will not be long in coming. Ultimately, it is for the legislature to determine the extent to which such changes should be made."

If the legislation proposed by McDowell is passed, the changes would bring Ireland in line with the United Kingdom, which introduced civil partnerships late last year. The first female couple to tie the knot in the UK did so in the British province of Northern Ireland.