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The Court of Appeal rejects a heterosexual couple’s appeal for a Civil Partnership (16 March 2017)

Date: 16/03/2017
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, The Court of Appeal rejects a heterosexual couple’s appeal for a Civil Partnership

The Court of Appeal has dismissed the challenge of heterosexual couple, Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, to be allowed to have a civil partnership.

The couple sought to affirm their relationship by means of a civil partnership despite the marriage route being open to them. They challenged the decision made in the High Court of Ms Justice Andrews to dismiss their Judicial Review and ruled that they did not meet the legal requirement of being the same sex. The couple argued that the ban on heterosexual individuals entering into civil partnerships was discriminatory and breached their rights to a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Court of Appeal, whilst sympathetic to their case and accepting that there was a potential for a breach of the couple’s human rights, decided that ultimately the government had made it clear that the issue was under review, and that more time should be afforded to the government and parliament to review and determine the matter.

The matter has also been raised in parliament by Tim Loughton MP, who has sponsored a private members bill seeking to effectively permit opposite sex couples the option of a civil partnership. The second reading of this bill is due to take place on 24th March 2017.

The couple have stated that they intend to appeal to the Supreme Court. It is therefore likely that, should the government or parliament not consider the issue in a careful and considered manner, the issue may be determined by the Supreme Court in the near future. It is likely a conclusive determination of this issue will be made, but whether Parliament or the Courts will act is yet to be determined.

Author Idnan Deen is a Director in the Family and Child Care Department at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. He represents clients from the company’s Leicester office in all children matters, particularly; special guardianship orders; care orders; supervision orders and emergency orders; adoption within the UK and overseas; parental responsibility agreements; paternity disputes and surrogacy agreements. His main area of expertise is in cases with an overseas element.

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