Chapin and Charpentier v France

Abstract

Human rights – Right to marry – Same-sex couples – Two male applicants submitting marriage application to local municipal council – Public prosecutor serving notice of objection to marriage – Marriage ceremony performed despite objection – On public prosecutor’s application Bordeaux Tribunal de Grand Instance annulling marriage – Decision upheld by Bordeaux Cour d’Appel and by Cour de Cassation – Whether there had been discrimination based on applicants’ sexual orientation in relation to right to marry or right to respect for private and family life – European Convention on Human Rights, art 12 in conjunction with art 14, art 8 in conjunction with art 14 In relation to ECHR Article 12 in conjunction with Article 14, the Court noted that in Schalk and Kopf v Austria App no 30141 (2012), there was said to be no European consensus on the question of same-sex marriage, and whether to allow same-sex marriage or not was for Member States to decide according to their own laws. As marriage entailed certain deeply rooted social and cultural connotations, which could differ considerably between different societies, the Court should not be too quick to substitute its own assessment for that of national authorities, who were better placed to assess the needs of society and respond to them. The Court in Schalk and Kopf had therefore decided that Article 12 did not require the government to open marriage up to same-sex couples.