My Take | Ruling on same-sex relationships could be a game changer for Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s top court has, over the past decade, delivered a series of landmark rulings upholding various rights of the LGBTQ community, gradually hauling the city’s outdated and discriminatory policies into the 21st century.

Last week, the Court of Final Appeal sought to draw a line under this long and painful process of piecemeal litigation. The five judges, in a majority decision, required the city to develop a scheme for the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships. This could be a game changer.

The challenge was brought by gay activist Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit who has been in a stable relationship with his partner since 2011. Same-sex marriage is not permitted in Hong Kong. Sham failed to persuade the court the city’s constitutional right to marry extends beyond heterosexual couples.

But the majority of the judges found that the absence of any framework for legal recognition of same-sex relationships amounts to a breach of couples’ right to privacy. They have been forced to endure the stress, uncertainty and expense of bringing legal actions to assert their rights, requiring them to reveal details of their private lives.

Justices Robert Ribeiro and Joseph Fok delivered a judgment grounded in basic human decency as well as the law. The judges highlighted the difficulties faced by same-sex couples, lacking recognition of their stable, committed and loving relationships, such as not being able to visit their partners in hospital.

The judges pointed out that there is an intrinsic value for couples in simply having their relationship acknowledged and said the arguments in favour of a scheme are compelling. A scheme, they added, would dispel any sense that same-sex couples “belong to an inferior class of persons whose relationship is undeserving of recognition”. This is the crux of the matter.