The Court of Appeal has ruled against a heterosexual couple who wish to enter into a civil partnership, rather than get married.
Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan challenged a ruling that said they did not meet the legal requirement for civil partnerships of being the same sex. They argued that the law discriminated against heterosexual couples.
The three judges in the Court of Appeal accepted that the law was discriminatory. However, two of the judges said that the discrimination was justified because the Government was looking into changing the law, and needed more time to consider the matter. The appeal was therefore dismissed.
The Government aims to undertake a proper assessment of the law and the best way forward, in the light of the demand by couples (whether same-sex or different-sex) for civil partnerships as well as marriage.
The couple have indicated that they intend to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Responding to the decision, Nigel Shepherd, chair of Resolution, the association of family lawyers, said: “It is understandable that some couples are attracted to a form of registered partnership that is not marriage, but which will give them similar protection to marriage. That said, from a purely legal perspective, it makes little sense to retain civil partnership. But, if the option of civil partnerships for same sex couples is to continue to be retained, then civil partnerships must also be available to opposite sex couples in order to avoid discrimination. We agree that there is a pressing need for the government to address this issue.”
You can read the full judgment here.
Image: Royal Courts, by Ken Mist, licensed under CC BY 2.0.