Oliari and Others v Italy
Oliari and Others v Italy (Application nos. 18766/11 and 36030/11) is a case decided in 2015 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in which the Court established a positive obligation upon member states to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples.
| Oliari and Others v Italy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Decided 21 July 2015 | |
| Nationality of parties | Italian |
| Court composition | |
| President Päivi Hirvelä | |
Judges
| |
Background
The ECtHR previously held in Schalk and Kopf v Austria (2010) that the Convention does not oblige member states to open marriage to same-sex couples, but if there is a different type of partnership scheme, same-sex couples may not be excluded per Vallianatos and Others v Greece (2013).
Same-sex marriage is not legal in Italy, nor did it at the time of the case provide any other type of recognition for either opposite-sex or same-sex couples, being the last major Western European county not to do so.
The applicants were six Italian men (three same-sex couples) who submitted their cases in 2011 after Italian courts rejected their application to marry.
Judgment
The Court held that Italy violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights ("Right to respect for private and family life") with the lack of legal recognition of same-sex relationships.
In the review of relevant law, the Court also referenced Obergefell v. Hodges, a United States Supreme Court ruling legalising same-sex marriage, which was published just a few days before the ECtHR deliberated in Oliari and Others v Italy.
However, the ECtHR found that, despite the evolution of states in favour of legalising same-sex marriage, there is no violation of Article 12 (right to marry) and thus confirmed its previous ruling in Schalk and Kopf v Austria (2010).
Consequences
In 2016, Italy implemented a law on civil unions, which can be entered into by same-sex couples.