13 Jul 2006

A British same-sex couple, Celia Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson, today were denied legal recognition of their Canadian marriage in the first such case to be brought in the UK. They have spent their life savings to bring the landmark legal challenge.

The Court found that their right to private life does not require the state to recognise their marriage. Further, the Court determined that the right to family life does not extend to childless same-sex couples. Although the Court found that the couple had been discriminated against in their right to marry their partner of choice, this discrimination was justified to protect the traditional notion of marriage as a union between a man and a woman primarily with the aim of producing children. 
  
Sue Wilkinson said: 
  
“We are deeply disappointed by today’s judgment – not just for ourselves, but for same-sex couples nationwide. Denying the validity of our marriage upholds discrimination and inequality. This judgment will not stand the test of time, and we look forward to the day when there is full equality in marriage for same-sex couples.” 
  
Liberty legal officer Joanne Sawyer said: 
  
“Celia and Sue have bravely taken the first step on the road to securing equal marriage rights for same sex couples. I have no doubt that today’s judgment will in due course be viewed as being out of step with contemporary values.” 
 
Liberty Press Office: 0207 378 3656 or 07973 831 128
 
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Case
A British couple, Celia Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson, who were legally married in Vancouver in 2003, asked the court to recognise their marriage under section 55 of the Family Law Act 1986.
 
For an overseas marriage to be recognised in the UK it must be shown that the marriage was legal, recognised in the country in which it was executed, and that nothing in the country’s law restricted their freedom to marry.
 
Celia and Sue argued that their marriage fulfils these requirements even though people cannot legally enter into same-sex marriages in the UK.
 
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 (which came into force on 5 December 2005) allows same sex couples new rights as “civil partners.” Despite having entered into a marriage in Canada in 2003, the UK automatically deemed Celia and Sue’s marriage to be a civil partnership as of December 2005.
 
Celia and Sue rejected the conversion of their marriage into a civil partnership, believing it to be both symbolically and practically a lesser substitute. They asked the court to recognise their overseas marriage in the same way that it would recognise that of a heterosexual couple. Sue and Celia argued that any failure to recognise the validity of their marriage constitutes a breach of their rights under Articles 8 (right to respect for private and family life), 12 (right to marry) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination) (taken together with Article 8 and/or 12) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is incorporated into domestic law by the Human Rights Act 1998.
 
Liberty is assisting the couple in their legal challenge.
 
Sue Wilkinson is an academic psychologist, and holds the posts of Professor of Feminist and Health Studies and Director of the Social Psychology degree programme at Loughborough University. She can be contacted on: 07891 802 168
 
Celia Kitzinger is a Professor at the Sociology Department at the University of York. She can be contacted on: 07891 802 155