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Äktenskap för alla? En analys av hur samkönade par kan få en rätt att gifta sig enligt Europakonventionen

Rosenqvist, Hanna LU (2022) LAGF03 20221
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Samkönade äktenskap har sedan början av 2000-talet blivit tillåtna i stora delar av Europa. Utvecklingen har däremot inte spridits jämnt över alla Europas länder och det finns heller inte en rätt för samkönade par att gifta sig enligt Europakonventionen. I fallet Schalk and Kopf v. Austria år 2010 kom Europadomstolen fram till att det, för närvarande, var upp till Europakonventionens medlemsstater att besluta om de ville tillåta samkönade äktenskap eller inte. Sedan avgörandet har samkönade par tillerkänts fler rättigheter enligt Europakonventionen och samkönade par har även fått en rätt att gifta sig i allt fler konventionsmedlemsstater. För närvarande tillåter 17 medlemsstater samkönade äktenskap, medan det behövs 24 stater för en... (More)
Samkönade äktenskap har sedan början av 2000-talet blivit tillåtna i stora delar av Europa. Utvecklingen har däremot inte spridits jämnt över alla Europas länder och det finns heller inte en rätt för samkönade par att gifta sig enligt Europakonventionen. I fallet Schalk and Kopf v. Austria år 2010 kom Europadomstolen fram till att det, för närvarande, var upp till Europakonventionens medlemsstater att besluta om de ville tillåta samkönade äktenskap eller inte. Sedan avgörandet har samkönade par tillerkänts fler rättigheter enligt Europakonventionen och samkönade par har även fått en rätt att gifta sig i allt fler konventionsmedlemsstater. För närvarande tillåter 17 medlemsstater samkönade äktenskap, medan det behövs 24 stater för en majoritet.

Med utgångspunkt i rättsdogmatisk metod analyserar den här uppsatsen hur en rätt för samkönade par att gifta sig kan introduceras i Europakonventionen. Ett rättsutvecklingsperspektiv har valts vilket innebär att fokus i uppsatsen inte bara ligger på nutida förutsättningar, utan även på vad utvecklingen av Europadomstolens praxis säger om hur en rätt för samkönade par att gifta sig kan introduceras i framtiden.

Efter en analys av Europakonventionen är en första slutsats i uppsatsen att det finns utrymme i Europakonventionen för att introducera en rätt för samkönade par att gifta sig. Det finns argument som Europadomstolen kan använda för att introducera en sådan rättighet enligt artikel 12. Därutöver skulle Europadomstolen kunna hitta en kränkning i enstaka fall enligt artikel 14 läst tillsammans med artikel 12 eller enligt artikel 1 i protokoll nr 12.

Efter att ha undersökt Europadomstolens praxis framkommer vidare att Europadomstolen tidigare har ändrat sin praxis när en majoritet bland medlemsstaterna eller annars en trend har identifierats. Mot bakgrund av både utrymmet i Europakonventionen och hur Europadomstolens praxis har utvecklats, är en trolig framtida utveckling att en rätt för samkönade par att gifta sig skulle introduceras i Europakonventionen om en europeisk konsensus uppstår. (Less)
Abstract
Since the beginning of the 2000s, same-sex marriage has been legalised in much of Europe. The expansion, however, has not been evenly distributed among European countries and a right for same-sex couples to marry has also not been recognized under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In the case of Schalk and Kopf v. Austria in 2010 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) came to the conclusion that it, as matters stand, would be up to the Contracting States to decide whether they wanted to allow same-sex marriage or not. Since the judgment, same-sex couples have been awarded more rights under the ECHR and have also been granted the right to marry in an increasing number of Contracting States. Currently 17 Contracting States... (More)
Since the beginning of the 2000s, same-sex marriage has been legalised in much of Europe. The expansion, however, has not been evenly distributed among European countries and a right for same-sex couples to marry has also not been recognized under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In the case of Schalk and Kopf v. Austria in 2010 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) came to the conclusion that it, as matters stand, would be up to the Contracting States to decide whether they wanted to allow same-sex marriage or not. Since the judgment, same-sex couples have been awarded more rights under the ECHR and have also been granted the right to marry in an increasing number of Contracting States. Currently 17 Contracting States allow same-sex marriage, whereas 24 are needed for a majority.

With the legal dogmatic method as a starting point, this essay analyses how a right for same-sex couples to marry can be introduced under the ECHR. A perspective of legal development has been chosen, meaning that the essay focuses not only on current preconditions, but also on what the development of the ECtHR’s case-law says about how a right for same-sex couples to marry can be introduced in the future.

After an analysis of the ECHR, a first conclusion in the essay is that there is room in the ECHR for introducing a right for same-sex couples to marry. There are arguments that the ECtHR can make for introducing such a right under Article 12. Additionally, the ECtHR could find a violation in individual cases under Article 14 read in conjunction with Article 12 or under Article 1 of Protocol No. 12.

After examining the ECtHR’s case-law, it is clear also that the ECtHR previously has changed its case-law when a majority among Contracting States or otherwise a trend has been identified. In light of both the room in the ECHR and how the ECtHR’s case-law has been developed, a likely future development is that a right for same-sex couples to marry would be introduced if a European consensus emerges. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rosenqvist, Hanna LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20221
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Folkrätt, Familjerätt, Samkönade äktenskap, EKMR, Europakonventionen, Mänskliga rättigheter
language
Swedish
id
9080810
date added to LUP
2022-06-28 11:16:15
date last changed
2022-06-28 11:16:15
@misc{9080810,
  abstract     = {{Since the beginning of the 2000s, same-sex marriage has been legalised in much of Europe. The expansion, however, has not been evenly distributed among European countries and a right for same-sex couples to marry has also not been recognized under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In the case of Schalk and Kopf v. Austria in 2010 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) came to the conclusion that it, as matters stand, would be up to the Contracting States to decide whether they wanted to allow same-sex marriage or not. Since the judgment, same-sex couples have been awarded more rights under the ECHR and have also been granted the right to marry in an increasing number of Contracting States. Currently 17 Contracting States allow same-sex marriage, whereas 24 are needed for a majority.

With the legal dogmatic method as a starting point, this essay analyses how a right for same-sex couples to marry can be introduced under the ECHR. A perspective of legal development has been chosen, meaning that the essay focuses not only on current preconditions, but also on what the development of the ECtHR’s case-law says about how a right for same-sex couples to marry can be introduced in the future. 

After an analysis of the ECHR, a first conclusion in the essay is that there is room in the ECHR for introducing a right for same-sex couples to marry. There are arguments that the ECtHR can make for introducing such a right under Article 12. Additionally, the ECtHR could find a violation in individual cases under Article 14 read in conjunction with Article 12 or under Article 1 of Protocol No. 12.

After examining the ECtHR’s case-law, it is clear also that the ECtHR previously has changed its case-law when a majority among Contracting States or otherwise a trend has been identified. In light of both the room in the ECHR and how the ECtHR’s case-law has been developed, a likely future development is that a right for same-sex couples to marry would be introduced if a European consensus emerges.}},
  author       = {{Rosenqvist, Hanna}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Äktenskap för alla? En analys av hur samkönade par kan få en rätt att gifta sig enligt Europakonventionen}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}