Title: Same sex marriage in Hong Kong: a right is more than a referendum

Authors: Reannon Navaratnam; Isabelle Lee

Addresses: School of Law, University of Western Sydney, James Ruse Drive, Parramatta, New South Wales, 2150, Australia ' School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

Abstract: The legalisation of same sex marriage is an issue which to date, still holds great controversy in its application to Hong Kong society. At law, no legal recognition exits regarding the union of homosexual partnerships in Hong Kong, despite few legislative amendments being made in related areas of law. This paper will provide an analysis of Hong Kong's current position on same sex marriage and will propose potential legislative amendments necessary to advocate the importance of legalising this right to marry. A human rights perspective will thus be adopted, in order to evaluate some of the counter arguments put forward by those objecting to same sex marriage.

Keywords: same-sex marriage; Hong Kong; referendum; homosexual partnerships; homosexual union; human rights; constitutional studies; equal rights; legal recognition.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2015.072470

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2015 Vol.3 No.3, pp.220 - 227

Received: 05 May 2015
Accepted: 06 May 2015
Published online: 14 Oct 2015 *

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