The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) is reporting that France's high court accepted a case this fall that involved a lesbian couple who were challenging the constitutionality of the French Civil Code which defines marriage as between a man and woman. The couple claims the exclusion of same-sex marriage denies them the right to lead a "normal family life" and violates the principle of equality under the law.
In a ruling handed down last Friday, the Council decided that because of the difference of situations between same-sex and heterosexual couples, the difference in treatment in family laws is justified and not in violation of the principle of equality. As for the right to a normal family life, the court found that the pacte civil de solidarité, a form of civil union that accords a plethora of legal, fiscal, and official benefits, is sufficient for a “normal family life.”
As C-FAM's Lauren Funk reports, the Council refrained from commenting on same-sex marriage itself, stating it is a matter of politics, not law, to decide such an issue. France’s Socialist Party, has already promised to call for a vote on same-sex marriage in Parliament this summer.
However, regardless of the parliament’s vote, activist groups could take the case to the European Court of Human Rights with the hopes that it would challenge the French ruling.
Legal experts such as Roger Kiska, Legal Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, say it is unlikely that the European Court will overturn the Council's decision. A same-sex marriage case has already been brought before the European Court but resulted in a ruling that it is “within a state’s margin of appreciation to decide upon its own family laws."
As a result, Kiska is optimistic that marriage law in France will not be changing anytime soon.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
French High Court Upholds Traditional Marriage
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The usual demand by proponents of same-sex marriage for "equality" fell flat last week as the French Constitutional Council, the county's equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court, ruled that there is nothing unequal about upholding the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.
The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) is reporting that France's high court accepted a case this fall that involved a lesbian couple who were challenging the constitutionality of the French Civil Code which defines marriage as between a man and woman. The couple claims the exclusion of same-sex marriage denies them the right to lead a "normal family life" and violates the principle of equality under the law.
In a ruling handed down last Friday, the Council decided that because of the difference of situations between same-sex and heterosexual couples, the difference in treatment in family laws is justified and not in violation of the principle of equality. As for the right to a normal family life, the court found that the pacte civil de solidarité, a form of civil union that accords a plethora of legal, fiscal, and official benefits, is sufficient for a “normal family life.”
As C-FAM's Lauren Funk reports, the Council refrained from commenting on same-sex marriage itself, stating it is a matter of politics, not law, to decide such an issue. France’s Socialist Party, has already promised to call for a vote on same-sex marriage in Parliament this summer.
However, regardless of the parliament’s vote, activist groups could take the case to the European Court of Human Rights with the hopes that it would challenge the French ruling.
Legal experts such as Roger Kiska, Legal Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, say it is unlikely that the European Court will overturn the Council's decision. A same-sex marriage case has already been brought before the European Court but resulted in a ruling that it is “within a state’s margin of appreciation to decide upon its own family laws."
As a result, Kiska is optimistic that marriage law in France will not be changing anytime soon.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) is reporting that France's high court accepted a case this fall that involved a lesbian couple who were challenging the constitutionality of the French Civil Code which defines marriage as between a man and woman. The couple claims the exclusion of same-sex marriage denies them the right to lead a "normal family life" and violates the principle of equality under the law.
In a ruling handed down last Friday, the Council decided that because of the difference of situations between same-sex and heterosexual couples, the difference in treatment in family laws is justified and not in violation of the principle of equality. As for the right to a normal family life, the court found that the pacte civil de solidarité, a form of civil union that accords a plethora of legal, fiscal, and official benefits, is sufficient for a “normal family life.”
As C-FAM's Lauren Funk reports, the Council refrained from commenting on same-sex marriage itself, stating it is a matter of politics, not law, to decide such an issue. France’s Socialist Party, has already promised to call for a vote on same-sex marriage in Parliament this summer.
However, regardless of the parliament’s vote, activist groups could take the case to the European Court of Human Rights with the hopes that it would challenge the French ruling.
Legal experts such as Roger Kiska, Legal Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, say it is unlikely that the European Court will overturn the Council's decision. A same-sex marriage case has already been brought before the European Court but resulted in a ruling that it is “within a state’s margin of appreciation to decide upon its own family laws."
As a result, Kiska is optimistic that marriage law in France will not be changing anytime soon.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
