Oliari and Others v. Italy

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.

Oliari and Others v. Italy
Decided 21 July 2015
Nationality of parties	Italian
Ruling
Same-sex couples have a positive right under the Convention to have their relationships recognized by the State
Court composition
President Päivi Hirvelä
Judges Guido Raimondi Ledi Bianku Nona Tsotsoria Paul Mahoney Faris Vehabović Yonko Grozev
Instruments cited
Article 8

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).^[1]

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. ^[2]

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,^[3] 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),^[2] and thus confirmed its previous ruling in Schalk and Kopf v. Austria (2010).

Aftermath

Main article: Recognition of same-sex unions in Italy

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.

See also

• Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe
• Recognition of same-sex unions in Italy
• List of LGBT-related cases before international courts and quasi-judicial bodies