Hong Kong court turns down first judicial challenge for same-sex marriage but urges government to review policies to avoid legal action arising from discrimination against LGBT people
- Court of First Instance rules against a lesbian woman who complained that lack of options of marriage or civil union partnerships had violated her constitutional rights
- The judge said the Basic Law could only refer to the marriage of a man and a woman because the constitutional document was written based on that understanding
A Hong Kong court on Friday turned down the city’s first judicial challenge for same-sex marriage and civil union partnerships, but urged the government to “undertake a comprehensive review” to save time and money from court actions arising from discrimination.
Court of First Instance judge Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming ruled against a lesbian woman known as MK who complained that the government’s failure to provide the options of marriage or civil union partnerships had violated her constitutional rights.
The judge said the existing laws did not cover same-sex marriage, adding it would be “beyond the proper scope of the functions and powers of the court to change a social policy on a fundamental issue”.
MK filed her judicial challenges last year after failing to get married to her girlfriend.
Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex marriage in general, except for limited purposes – such as taxation, civil servants’ benefits, or application of dependent visas if a couple has married overseas – mostly achieved through legal challenges in the past few years.
But despite new legal principles arising from those challenges, the government has yet to carry out a wider review of its policies.