Sexual Orientation and the Law Blog

With Stevens retirement, Court loses strong and consistent voice on gay rights

Chris Geidner of Metro Weekly has an appreciation of the contributions Justice John Paul Stevens has made in cases affecting gays and lesbians.

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April Lesbigay Law Notes now available

The April edition of Professor Art Leonard's indispensable Lesbian/Gay Law Notes is now available.  In the lead story, a panel of the European Court of Human Rights has held that Polish officials violated Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights when they categorically denied tenant succession rights to same-sex couples but allowed succession rights to unmarried opposite-sex couples.  The Polish court had held that any succession right under a claim of de facto marriage could not apply to same-sex couples, since marriage was limited to opposite-sex couples.  The panel of the European Court held that the legal distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex couples was not justified.   The panel also affirmed that the European Convention on Human Rights prohibits members-states from interpreting their own laws in a way that unjustifiably discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.

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