YOU report that the English Court of Appeal has ruled against a mixed-sex couple who are seeking a civil partnership (“Couple lose legal battle to be civil partners”, The Herald, February 22). However, the detail of the judgement tells a rather different story. All three appeal court judges ruled that there is a potential violation of article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which bans discrimination.
But the appeal judges differed on whether that discrimination was justified. One of the judges ruled that it was not, while the other two held that it is currently justified. That was on the basis that the UK Government is reviewing the trend in numbers of same-sex civil partnerships in England and Wales, since same-sex marriage was introduced, before deciding what to do. However, those two judges were clear that that review must be completed soon. One wrote: "I do not consider that the discrimination in the status quo can be maintained for long."
The message is clear: both the UK and Scottish Governments are now on notice that the current discrimination in denying civil partnership to mixed-sex couples is unsustainable. Within a few years at most, this is likely to be ruled unlawful in Scotland, where the Government and Parliament are required to comply with the ECHR.
Tim Hopkins,
Equality Network,
30 Bernard Street, Edinburgh.
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