- 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
- She argued that the government’s failure to provide marriage options had violated her rights to privacy and equality guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the Basic Law
A Hong Kong court on Friday turned down the city's first judicial challenge for same-sex marriage and civil union partnerships, dealing a blow to LGBT groups' fight for full equality in court.
The Court of First Instance 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.
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.
The authorities do not provide the option of a civil union partnership either.
Support for same-sex marriage in Hong Kong grows
The limited rights now enjoyed by same-sex couples are mostly achieved by LGBT activists taking the authorities to court through judicial challenges in recent years, pushing back on one specific front after another, which has been a successful gambit to push for greater equality.
The present challenge is the first to directly attack the government for failing to provide at the very least a status equivalent to marriage.
Little is known about the applicant, referred to only by her alias, as she requested anonymity when she filed judicial challenge in court last year. She planned to enter into a civil partnership with her female partner.
Hong Kong to recognise same-sex partnerships in visa applications
She argued that the government's failure had violated her rights to privacy and equality guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the Basic Law, the city's mini-constitution.
During the trial, which was heard in May, her lawyer Gladys Li said the issue was "now or never".
She likened the government's refusal as shutting gay and lesbian couples out of a "private member club".
While rights, such as inheritance or the exemption to give evidence in criminal proceedings against one's spouse were only available through marriage, same-sex couples were denied those rights simply because they could not get married, she said.
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