[1] The court ruled unanimously that the law violated the equality clause of the Bill of Rights, which forbids unfair discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The judgment therefore amended the law to extend the spousal benefits to same-sex partners who had undertaken "reciprocal duties of support".

Although the holding, strictly speaking, was limited to judges and their partners, it was seen as having a wider effect, with the director of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project describing it as "yet another step toward the formal legal recognition of same-sex relationships".

The Constitutional Court granted an order applying the reasoning of its earlier ruling to the new act.

You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.This article about lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender-related law is a stub.