Hong Kong court issues landmark ruling on benefits for gay couples | Inquirer News

Hong Kong court issues landmark ruling on benefits for gay couples

/ 01:57 PM June 06, 2019

Same-sex couples attend an event to raise awareness of gay rights in Hong Kong on May 25, 2019, one day after Taiwan made history with Asia's first legal gay weddings. - The weddings, which came a week after lawmakers took the unprecedented decision to legalise gay marriage despite staunch conservative opposition, places Taiwan at the vanguard of the burgeoning gay rights movement in Asia. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

Same-sex couples attend an event to raise awareness of gay rights in Hong Kong on May 25, 2019, one day after Taiwan made history with Asia’s first legal gay weddings.  (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s top court ordered the government to grant spousal rights and benefits to the husband of a gay civil servant who married overseas, in a new landmark ruling for LGBT rights on Thursday.

The judgement, handed down by the Court of Final Appeal, is the latest instance where the judiciary has found against the government and in favour of gay rights groups seeking greater equality.

Article continues after this advertisement

Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex marriage or civil unions and only decriminalised homosexuality in 1991.

FEATURED STORIES

Despite growing public support for gay marriage, campaigners have made little headway against staunch opposition from the city’s successive pro-Beijing governments and religious conservatives.

But they have started to see some success in the courts.

Article continues after this advertisement

The latest case was brought by Angus Leung, a Hong Kong immigration officer who legally married his husband in New Zealand in 2014.

Article continues after this advertisement

When the newlyweds returned to Hong Kong, Leung applied for his husband to be granted the same medical and dental benefits available to his married heterosexual colleagues but was rebuffed. He was also unable to register for married couple tax benefits.

Article continues after this advertisement

On Thursday, five senior judges unanimously ruled that denying Leung and Scott spousal rights for a marriage in New Zealand breached Hong Kong’s anti-discrimination laws.

Government lawyers said granting spousal benefits would go against Hong Kong’s legal definition of marriage as being between a man and a wife.

Article continues after this advertisement

But the judges dismissed that argument.

The judges also said the government’s reticence contravened the civil service’s own published commitment to being an equal opportunities employer.

Thursday’s ruling comes after a British lesbian won the right for her partner to be granted a spousal visa in Hong Kong last year.

The two rulings will now make it harder for Hong Kong authorities to reject legally recognised same-sex marriages conducted overseas.

Last week a judge ruled that a series of archaic laws criminalising certain gay sex acts were unconstitutional.

Hong Kong’s lower courts are currently hearing a challenge from a Hong Kong woman who wants to enter into a civil partnership with her female partner.

And a separate case has been lodged by two Hong Kong men directly challenging the same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Hong Kong’s ban stands in contrast to nearby Taiwan where lawmakers made history last month by legalising same-sex marriage in a landmark first for Asia.

TAGS: court, gay, Gay Couple, Hong Kong, LGBT, marriage, Politics

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.