Cayman-based LGBTQ+ group Colours Caribbean has been accepted as an intervenor in a European Court of Human Rights case on same-sex marriage in Bermuda.
Members have joined the action voluntarily in order to provide further information and a unique perspective to the court.
The group’s hope is that their contribution will help to overturn a ruling by the UK’s Judicial Committee of the Privy Council dismissing the right to same-sex marriage on the island.
Em DeCou, president of Colours Caribbean, told the Compass that the case is important in determining the future of LGBTQ+ people across all the British overseas territories.
“This ruling has the potential to set a precedent for all BOTs whereby same-sex marriage legislation could be revoked, which could upend the families and lives of many brilliant persons who contribute to our society,” she said.
She explained Colours Caribbean works with the British overseas territories to advocate for human rights, increase visibility, and shift judiciary attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people.
Three points
Colours Caribbean lodged its intervention submissions with the court on 19 Oct., in which it focused on three main points, detailed in a press release.
The group’s first point was on inconsistency.
The current legal position on same-sex marriage rights in Bermuda and the Caribbean British overseas territories is inconsistent with that in all other parts of the UK, it said.
It added it is also inconsistent with the legal position in the rest of the American continent, including the overseas territories of the US, Netherlands, France and Denmark.
Colours Caribbean’s second point was that the UK has no relevant ‘margin of appreciation’ to permit discriminatory treatment.
This refers to the European Court of Human Rights doctrine which allows nations the flexibility to make their own decisions, under certain circumstances.
But if the court does consider that the UK has any ‘margin of appreciation’, however, it cannot be used to justify any differential treatment of LGBTQ+ people, it said.
The group’s third point was that political views are irrelevant.
It said no material weight can be placed by the court on the political views that have been expressed in Bermuda or Caribbean British overseas territories against same-sex marriage.
“Every citizen legally resident in Bermuda and the Caribbean British overseas territories is protected under the relevant jurisdiction’s constitution and the convention,” the press release said.
Bermuda’s history of equality
The rights of same-sex couples to marry have been debated in Bermuda for many decades.
In May 2017, Bermuda’s Supreme Court declared that same-sex couples had a legal right to marry after a male couple filed a lawsuit against the government.
However, in December 2017, Bermuda’s parliament passed a bill to ban same-sex marriage and establish domestic partnerships instead.
The Domestic Partnership Act 2018 went into effect in June 2018. In response, two legal challenges were filed.
In June 2018, the Supreme Court struck down the parts of the domestic partnership law that banned same-sex marriages, but stayed the ruling while the government appealed.
The appeals court then upheld the Supreme Court’s decision when it handed down its ruling in November 2018.
However, in March 2022, the Bermudian government appealed to the UK’s Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which overturned the decision by the Supreme Court.
As a result, eight applicants have now appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, alleging a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Related Videos
