Greece wrong to exclude same-sex couples from ‘civil unions,’ European Court of Human Rights rules
In a ruling issued Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights said that Greece’s exclusion of same-sex couples from “civil unions” was in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights.
The court remarked that of the 19 states which have authorized some form of registered partnership other than marriage, Greece and Lithuania were the only ones to reserve it exclusively to different-sex couples, a press release said.
Judges said that same-sex couples are just as capable as different-sex couples of entering into stable committed relationships. In addition, the court said that although there is currently no consensus among Council of Europe member states, nevertheless a trend is emerging towards introducing forms of legal recognition of same-sex relationships.
The court held that Greece has to pay each of the six applicants in the case 5,000 euros in damages, according to the same press release.
