Oliari and Others v. Italy

{{Infobox European case

|court=ECtHR

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|DecideDate=21 July

|DecideYear=2015

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|Nationality=Italian

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|Ruling=Same-sex couples have a positive right under the Convention to have their relationships recognized by the State

|JudgeRapporteur=

|JudgePresident=Päivi Hirvelä

|Judge1=Guido Raimondi

|Judge2=Ledi Bianku

|Judge3=Nona Tsotsoria

|Judge4=Paul Mahoney (English judge){{!}}Paul Mahoney

|Judge5=Faris Vehabović

|Judge6=Yonko Grozev

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|InstrumentsCited=Article 8

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Oliari and Others v. Italy (Application nos. 18766/11 and 36030/11) is a case decided in 2015 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in which the Court established a positive obligation upon member states to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples.

Background

The ECtHR previously held in Schalk and Kopf v. Austria (2010) that the Convention does not oblige member states to open marriage to same-sex couples, but if there is a different type of partnership scheme, same-sex couples may not be excluded per Vallianatos and Others v. Greece (2013).{{Cite web|url=https://strasbourgobservers.com/2014/01/13/vallianatos-and-others-v-greece-what-is-in-there-for-lithuania/|title=VALLIANATOS AND OTHERS V. GREECE: WHAT IS IN THERE FOR LITHUANIA?|access-date=20 July 2023}}

Same-sex marriage is not legal in Italy, nor did the country at the time of the case provide any other type of recognition for either opposite-sex or same-sex couples.

The applicants were three same-sex couples who submitted their cases in 2011 after Italian courts rejected their requests to have their marriage recognized.

Judgment

The Court held that Italy, by not legally recognizing same-sex relationships, violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights ("Right to respect for private and family life").

In the review of relevant law, the Court also referenced Obergefell v. Hodges, a United States Supreme Court ruling legalising same-sex marriage,{{Cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/italy/2015/07/21/breaking-european-court-rules-italys-same-sex-marriage-ban-human-rights-violation|title=European Court Rules Italy's Same-Sex Marriage Ban a Human Rights Violation|date=15 December 2022|access-date=21 July 2015|website=The Advocate}} which was published just a few days before the ECtHR deliberated in Oliari and Others v. Italy.

However, the ECtHR found that, despite the evolution of states in favour of legalising same-sex marriage, there was no violation of Article 12 (right to marry),{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2015-09-14/european-court-of-human-rights-decision-on-gay-marriage-in-italy/|title=European Court of Human Rights: Decision on Gay Marriage in Italy|date=14 September 2015|access-date=15 December 2022|website=Library of Congress}} and thus confirmed its previous ruling in Schalk and Kopf v. Austria (2010).

Aftermath

In May 2016, almost one year after the Court's ruling, the Italian Parliament passed a civil unions law, which grant same-sex couples all of the legal protections enjoyed by opposite-sex married couples. The law came into effect in June of the same year.