Legal status of same-sex marriage

[37] In December 2005, in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled unanimously that bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional.

[citation needed] The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled in February 2007 that same-sex couples are entitled to the same inheritance rights as heterosexuals in common-law marriages.

[45] On 26 July 2011, the Court ordered the Congress to pass legislation giving same-sex couples similar rights to marriage within two years (by 20 June 2013).

[50] Costa Rica's Constitutional Court subsequently ruled that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry, and gave the government a deadline of 26 May 2020, to make legislative changes.

[53] A draft family code containing provisions allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt was approved by the National Assembly of People's Power on 21 December 2021.

[56][52] President Miguel Díaz-Canel signed the new family code into law on 26 September,[57][58] and it took effect upon publication in the Official Gazette the following day.

[69] Unlike Mexico City's law, once same-sex couples have registered in Coahuila, the state protects their rights no matter where they live in the country.

[77] On 26 June 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in Hollingsworth v. Perry that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, allowing same-sex marriages to resume in California.

In February 2015, the United States Department of Labor issued its final rule amending the definition of "spouse" under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) in response to the Windsor decision.

These laws bestow marriage-like rights to these couples, and are referred to as civil unions, domestic partnerships, or reciprocal beneficiaries depending on the state.

On 24 May 2017 the Constitutional Court in Taiwan ruled that same-sex couples have a right to marry, and gave the legislature two years to amend Taiwanese marriage laws accordingly.

[citation needed] On 5 January 2016, a court in Changsha agreed to hear a lawsuit against the Bureau of Civil Affairs of Furong District for its June 2015 refusal to let a gay man marry his partner.

However, the British consulate in Hong Kong does not perform consular civil partnerships or same-sex marriage due to the "strong objections" the HKSAR government raised with the British consulate-general, as apparently UK law prohibits embassies and consulates from performing consular marriages if objection is raised by the local government.

[118] On 22 November 2018, a gay married man filed to the High Court a judicial review application, arguing that a decision by the Housing Authority was unconstitutional under the Hong Kong Bill of Rights and the Basic Law, after he and his husband married in Canada were rejected by the HKSAR government for an application for public housing under the category of "ordinary family" in September.

[124] Japan does not allow same-sex marriage within its borders, and had until that point also refused to issue a key document required for citizens to wed overseas if the applicant's intended spouse was of the same gender.

Under the change, the Ministry of Justice instructed local authorities to issue the key certificate—which states a person is single and of legal age—for those wanting to enter same-sex marriages.

[127][52] In November 2023, Nepal officially recognised a marriage between a transgender woman and a cisgender man, months after a single bench of the Supreme Court issued an interim order directing the government to create a separate record for non-traditional couples and sexual minorities and to temporarily register them.

[135] In 2003, the government of Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) led by the Presidential office, proposed legislation granting marriages to same-sex couples under the Human Rights Basic Law, but it did not proceed.

[143][144][145][146] Same-sex civil marriages are legally recognized nationwide in Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

[155] In June 2023, the Estonian Parliament passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage and joint adoption, and giving full effect to the registered partnership law.

Legislation for same-sex marriage was submitted by individual members of the Parliament in March 2012 but it was turned down by the Legal Affairs Committee in February 2013.

Registered life partnerships (Eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft) (effectively, a form of civil union) have been instituted since 2001, giving same-sex couples most of the rights and obligations of marriage.

Attempts to give equal rights to registered partners or to legalize same-sex marriage began in Spring 2008, after the Greek Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights announced that a bill was to be introduced to the Hellenic Parliament in order to regulate civil partnerships for opposite-sex couples, but refused to include provisions for same-sex couples as well.

An amendment was made to the Civil Code: "Partners – if not stipulated otherwise by law – are two people living in an emotional and economic community in the same household without being married."

The Hungarian Parliament on 21 April 2009 passed legislation by a vote of 199–159, called the Registered Partnership Act 2009 which allows same-sex couples to register their relationships so they can access the same rights, benefits and entitlements as opposite-sex couples (except for the right to marriage, adoption, IVF, surrogacy, taking a surname or become the legal guardian of their partner's child).

The Norwegian government proposed a gender-neutral marriage law on 14 March 2008, that would give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexuals, including church weddings, adoption and assisted pregnancies.

On 24 February 2017, a new law came into effect which gives same-sex partnerships all the legal rights of marriages, with the exception of adoption and in-vitro fertilisation.

After being elected in June 2004, Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero restated his pre-election pledge to push for legalization of same-sex marriage.

In Scotland, which is a separate legal jurisdiction, the devolved Scottish Parliament also introduced Civil Partnerships, and performed also a consultation on the issue of same-sex marriage.

On 25 July 2012 the Scottish Government announced it would bring forward legislation to legalise both civil and religious same-sex marriage in Scotland.