Austrian Constitutional Court Somewhere under the Rainbow: Marriage Equality and the Role of the Austrian Constitutional Court
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Christa Pail
Abstract
In 2010, Austria introduced the Registered Partnership as the only form of legal recognition for same-sex couples while marriage is limited to heterosexual couples. In a recent judgment, the Austrian Constitutional Court decided this limitation to be unconstitutional. Due to numerous legal changes in the last years, the legal framework governing registered partnerships and marriage became nearly identical. By upholding different terms for the same kind of relationship, same-sex partners are presented unequal to different-sex couples and forced to show their sexual orientation even in situations where sexual orientation should be irrelevant. This puts them at risk of discrimination. The Court considers this as a violation of the principle of equality.
© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Constitutional Preambles as Narratives of Peoplehood
- The Relationship Among the International Rule of Law, Spontaneous Order, and Economic Development
- Notes and Essays
- Case Note: Belcacemi and Oussar v Belgium App no 37798/13 (ECtHR, 11 July 2017)
- Constitutional Developments
- Austrian Constitutional Court Somewhere under the Rainbow: Marriage Equality and the Role of the Austrian Constitutional Court
- Book Review
- New Book on ‘Constitutionalism’ in an Illiberal State: András L Pap, Democratic Decline in Hungary: Law and Society in an Illiberal Democracy (Routledge 2018)
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Constitutional Preambles as Narratives of Peoplehood
- The Relationship Among the International Rule of Law, Spontaneous Order, and Economic Development
- Notes and Essays
- Case Note: Belcacemi and Oussar v Belgium App no 37798/13 (ECtHR, 11 July 2017)
- Constitutional Developments
- Austrian Constitutional Court Somewhere under the Rainbow: Marriage Equality and the Role of the Austrian Constitutional Court
- Book Review
- New Book on ‘Constitutionalism’ in an Illiberal State: András L Pap, Democratic Decline in Hungary: Law and Society in an Illiberal Democracy (Routledge 2018)
