Hong Kong's top court rules in favour of legal recognition for same-sex couples

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : Activists hope the Hong Kong ruling could also encourage further acceptance of same-sex marriage across Asia, where it is legal only in Taiwan and Nepal.
57% : Leung urged to government to note the popular support of same-sex marriage, and "work proactively with stakeholders to formulate a robust legal framework ... as soon as practicable".
55% : "First, such recognition is required to meet basic social needs similar to those experienced by different-sex couples in stable relationships," they said.
53% : The ruling is the first time the court of final appeal has directly addressed same-sex marriage.
47% : Justices Joseph Fok, R A V Ribeiro and Patrick Keane said the need for same-sex couples to have access to legal recognition of their relationship had been "compellingly advocated".
46% : The ruling said Hong Kong's government was "in violation of its positive obligations" under the bill of rights to provide a legal framework to recognise same-sex couples outside the institution of marriage, and gave it two years to establish a system.
45% : Judges call for alternative framework to marriage in partial victory for city's LGBTQ+ community Hong Kong must provide an alternative to marriage in order to legally recognise the rights of same-sex couples, the city's highest court has declared, opening the way for civil unions.
45% : Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1991 and legal challenges have pushed an otherwise unenthusiastic government to make improvements in some rights for same-sex couples.
44% : Recent polling has found support for same-sex marriage has grown from 38% to more than 60% in a decade, however activism of any kind has become increasingly difficult under the government's security crackdown after the 2018 pro-democracy protests.
43% : However, it rejected appeals against current laws which restrict marriage to heterosexual couples and refuse to recognise overseas same-sex marriages, despite majority support among the population.
41% : "As long as the exclusion from marriage remains, same-sex couples and their families are denied the same respect and protections as their neighbours."
39% : Sham, who is in prison, had argued that by denying same-sex couples the right to marry, failing to provide an alternative legal recognition of their relationship, and refusing to recognise overseas marriages went against provisions in Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the basic law, and its bill of rights.
34% : "Secondly, the absence of legal recognition has been seen to be essentially discriminatory and demeaning to same-sex couples."

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