Abstract
In 1990, who would have thought that there would come a time when a generation of law students starting university would not even question if same-sex couples should be entitled to marry? And yet, that time has arrived. The majority of students embarking upon a legal education at a Dutch university in September 2011 were 8 years old when Job Cohen, the Mayor of Amsterdam, celebrated the first-ever State endorsed same-sex marriage in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For these students, the existence of same-sex marriage is as much a given, as the need to criminalize murderers or the need for a National Parliament. Yet, the road to this point in time has not been one without its trials and tribulations In this article, an attempt will be made to briefly outline the current state of the law with regards the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Europe. In doing so, attention will be paid to the formalized forms of relationship recognition currently available across the European continent, namely same-sex marriage and forms of registered partnership. Attention will then shift to an analysis of the developments within European Union legislation and trends at the European Court of Human Rights, before drawing some general conclusions with regards the future.
Highlights
In 1990, who would have thought that there would come a time when a generation of law students starting university would not even question if samesex couples should be entitled to marry? And yet, that time has arrived
Supreme Court decided the second case.[2]. Both courts ruled against the petitioners, with the Dutch Supreme Court holding that: Civil marriage is since time immemorial understood to be an enduring bond between a man and a woman to which a number of legal consequences are attached, which partly relate to the difference in sex and the consequences connected therewith for the descent of children
It cannot be said that the general opinion in the legal community has developed such that the considerations just mentioned do not justify the distinction in treatment on the grounds of sexual orientation, which can manifest itself in the impossibility to enter a relationship like marriage with a person of the same sex as oneself.[3]
Summary
In 1990, who would have thought that there would come a time when a generation of law students starting university would not even question if samesex couples should be entitled to marry? And yet, that time has arrived. The majority of students embarking upon a legal education at a Dutch university in September 2011 were eight years old when Job Cohen, the mayor of Amsterdam, celebrated the first-ever state endorsed same-sex marriage in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 2001. For these students, the existence of same-sex marriage is as much a given as the need to criminalize murderers or the need for a National Parliament. In this article an attempt will be made to outline the current state of the law regarding the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Europe. Attention will shift to an analysis of the developments within European Union legislation and trends at the European Court of Human Rights, before drawing some general conclusions with regard to the future
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
