Sentenza 21 luglio 2015, n.18766-36030/11
In the case of Oliari and Others v. Italy (application no. 18766/11
and 36030/11) the European Court of Human Rights held,
unanimously, that there had been: a violation of Article 8 (right
to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention
on Human Rights. The case concerned the complaint by three
homosexual couples that under Italian legislation they do not
have the possibility to get married or enter into any other type of
civil union. The Court considered that the legal protection
currently available to same-sex couples in Italy – as was
shown by the applicants’ situation – did not only fail to
provide for the core needs relevant to a couple in a stable
committed relationship, but it was also not sufficiently reliable. A
civil union or registered partnership would be the most
appropriate way for same-sex couples like the applicants to have
their relationship legally recognised. The Court pointed out, in
particular, that there was a trend among Council of Europe member
States towards legal recognition of same-sex couples –
24 out of the 47 member States having legislated in favour of
such recognition – and that the Italian Constitutional
Court had repeatedly called for such protection and recognition.
Furthermore, according to recent surveys, a majority of the Italian
population supported legal recognition of homosexual couples.
[Press Release – European Court of Human Rights]