A look at the same-sex marriage through the practice of the European Court of Human Rights

Nikolić Oliver (Institut za uporedno pravo, Beograd), o.nikolic@iup.rs

The paper briefly analyses the attitude of the European Court of Human Rights towards the institutions of same-sex marriage and registered partnerships. Although same-sex marriage has been legally accepted in a relatively small number of countries in the last few decades, there is a visible trend towards its legal recognition, especially in the countries of the European Union (EU). The European Convention on Human Rights (especially its provisions from Articles 8, 12, and 14) played a key role in advancing the rights and recognition of same-sex marriages in Europe. Legal interpretations of private and family life, as well as non-discrimination and recognition of relationships between same-sex partners, have evolved through the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. The author of the paper investigates the evolution of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights through the analysis of the most important cases on same-sex marriage.

Keywords: Human Rights, Same-Sex marriage, registered partnership, European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, jurisprudence