Hong Kong’s top court rules in favour of equal inheritance and housing benefits for same-sex couples
The Hindu
Hong Kong's top court affirms equal rights for same-sex couples in housing and inheritance, a landmark win for LGBTQ+ rights.
Hong Kong’s top court on Tuesday (November 26, 2024) upheld earlier rulings that favoured subsidized housing benefits and equal inheritance rights for same-sex married couples, in a landmark victory for the city's LGBTQ+ community.
The Court of Final Appeal's dismissal of the government's appeals ended some yearslong legal battles over the differential treatment facing same-sex couples married overseas under Hong Kong’s Housing Authority policies and two inheritance laws.
The unanimous decisions are expected to have a far-reaching impact on the lives of same-sex couples, who have traditionally had fewer rights compared to their heterosexual counterparts in the global financial hub.
Chief Justice Andrew Cheung said in his judgement that exclusionary housing policies were argued to be beneficial to opposite-sex married couples because they increase the supply of subsidized housing for them and thereby support the institution of traditional families.
But Cheung said authorities failed to provide evidence showing the potential impact on opposite-sex couples if those policies were relaxed.
“The challenged policies cannot be justified,” he wrote.
On the inheritance laws, judges Roberto Ribeiro and Joseph Fok ruled that the disputed provisions are “discriminatory and unconstitutional" in their written judgement.
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