Nicola Carr does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. The ruling involved two separate cases brought by couples who argued that their human rights were being breached because there is no law allowing for same-sex marriage, or the recognition of same-sex marriages in Northern Ireland.
It is the only jurisdiction in the UK which does not allow same-sex marriage. The first case involved two men who were married in London in and who had moved to Northern Ireland and were attempting to have their marriage legally recognised there. Under the current law, their marriage is treated as a civil partnership. The second case involved the two couples in civil partnerships β the first two couples to enter into civil partnerships when Northern Ireland became the first UK jurisdiction to introduce these in β who argued that the marriage ban breaches their right to private and family life.
He stated:. It is not at all difficult to understand how gay men and lesbians who have suffered discrimination, rejection and exclusion feel so strongly about the maintenance in Northern Ireland of the barrier to same-sex marriage. However, the judgment which I have to reach is not based on social policy but on the law. Since the collapse of the power-sharing assembly in January following a financial scandal, there has not been a functioning executive or legislature for eight months.
Power-sharing between nationalist and unionist parties, including a joint office of first minister and deputy first minister, are a requirement of the institutional arrangements established following the Northern Ireland peace process.
The issue of marriage equality remains one of the key points of contention. The triggering of a petition of concern β which requires the signature of 30 members of the assembly β means that any proposed legislation will only pass if supported by a majority of both unionists and nationalists.
