Brussels, 24/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - ILGA-Europe, which defends the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people in Europe, gave a warm welcome in a press release on Wednesday 22 July to the ruling delivered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against Italy the previous day. Italy does not allow civil partnerships between same-sex couples.
ILGA- Europe hailed this ruling that same-sex couples have the right to have their unions legally recognised. Following the action lodged by six plaintiffs, the ECtHR, on Tuesday 21 July, called on Italy to introduce civil unions or registered partnership to resolve this inequality and ruled against the country for violating the privacy rights of three same-sex couples. In its ruling, delivered unanimously by the judges, the Court noted that the European Convention on Human Rights does not require states to make marriage possible for homosexuals but same-sex couples must have the same legal protection as married couples.
The cohabitation agreements that have been part of Italian law since 2013 do not meet this requirement, the ECtHR ruled and are too limited in scope to be able to provide for some basic needs which were fundamental to the regulation of a relationship between a couple in a stable and committed relationship, such as mutual material support, maintenance obligations and inheritance rights.
ILGA-Europe welcomes a decision which, for the first time, states the right to legal recognition for couples of the same sex and notes that the Italian constitutional court had, in 2010, pointed out the need to recognise same-sex couples. However, ILGA-Europe points out that promises by successive governments to act on this issue have come to nothing. According to the ECtHR. 24 of the 47 member countries of the Council of Europe have put in place legal recognition for same-sex unions. (Solenn Paulic)