Same-sex couples before the ECtHR: The right to marriage

Abstract

This chapter analyses the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on the recognition of the right to marriage for same-sex couples. It focuses on the Court's 2010 judgment in the well-known case Schalk and Kopf, referring also to other cases on the subject. The discussion highlights important aspects of the evolutive approach of the Court and the limits of the decision of 2010, particularly with regard to the absence of a European consensus on same-sex marriages among the States Parties to the ECHR. The conclusion provides some observations on recent and future developments, both in the case law of the Court and in the legislation of the Member States.