Should same-sex couples be permitted to marry? Or should a separate institution of "registered partnership" or "civil union" be created for them? Or should the rights and duties of unmarried different-sex couples be extended to them? Should they be allowed to adopt each other's children, or jointly adopt an unrelated child? How should they be treated with regard to employment, social security, pensions, housing, immigration, taxation, inheritance, and divorce? These questions are being debated around the world, as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons increasingly (but not uniformly) insist that they cannot be truly equal without equal treatment for the loving and lasting relationships they form with their partners. In "Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Partnerships", an international team of scholars examines both theoretical issues and the wide variety of legal developments in the United States, Canada, Brazil, thirteen European countries, Israel, South Africa, India, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand, as well as under European Community and European Convention law, and United Nations human rights law.

IntroductionRobert Wintemute, Reader, School of Law, King's College, University of London1. Same-Sex Relationships: An Australian Perspective on a Global IssueThe Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG, High Court of AustraliaPART I THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVESIntroduction: Theoretical PerspectivesDavid AJ Richards, Professor, School of Law, New York University2. Same-Sex Partnerships and Arguments of JusticeNicholas Bamforth, Fellow, Queen's College, University of Oxford3. The Limitations of Liberal Neutrality Arguments in Favour of Same-Sex MarriageChai R Feldblum, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center4. Like Counting Stars? Re-Structuring Equality and the Socio-Legal Space of Same-Sex MarriageDavina Cooper, Professor, School of Law, Keele University5. Recognition, Rights, Regulation, Normalisation: Rhetorics of Justification in the Same-Sex Marriage DebateJanet Halley, Professor, Harvard Law School6. The Ideological Structure of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate (And Some Postmodern Arguments for Same-Sex Marriage)William N Eskridge, Jr., Professor, Yale Law SchoolPART II NATIONAL LAWSection A-United States7. Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Partners Under US State or Local LawArthur S Leonard, Professor, New York Law School8. Lesbian and Gay Couples Raising Children: The Law in the United StatesNancy D Polikoff, Professor, Washington College of Law, American University9. The Hawaii Marriage Case Launches the US Freedom-to-Marry Movement for EqualityEvan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry Project, New York (formerly Marriage Project Director, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York)10. The Freedom to Marry for Same-Sex Couples in the United States of AmericaMary L Bonauto, Civil Rights Director, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, BostonSection B-CanadaIntroduction: Same-Sex Partnerships in CanadaThe Hon. Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, Supreme Court of Canada11. Any Two Persons in Canada's Lotusland, British ColumbiaDonald G Casswell, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria12. Becoming "Persons" in Canadian Law: Genuine Equality or "Separate But Equal?"Kathleen A Lahey, Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen's UniversitySection C-Africa, Australasia and Latin America13. Politics, Partnership Rights and the Constitution in South Africa . . . (and the Problem of Sexual Identity)Craig Lind, Lecturer, School of Legal Studies, University of Sussex14. Let Them Eat Cake, and Ice Cream: Wanting Something "More" from the Relationship Recognition MenuJenni Millbank, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney Wayne Morgan, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Australian National University15. The New Zealand Same-Sex Marriage Case: From Aotearoa to the United NationsNigel Christie, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Law, University of Waikato16. Brazil's Proposed "Civil Unions Between Persons of the Same Sex": Legislative Inaction and Judicial ReactionsMarcelo Dealtry Turra, Adjunct Professor of Law, Universidade Candido Mendes, Rio de JaneiroSection D-Asia and the Middle East17. Towards Legal Protection for Same-Sex Partnerships in Japan: From the Perspective of Gay and Lesbian IdentityAkitoshi Yanagihashi, Legal Director, Japan Association for the Lesbian and Gay Movement (OCCUR), Tokyo18. Contextualising the Same-Sex Erotic Relationship: Post-Colonial Tongzhi and Political Discourse on Marriage Law in Hong Kong and Mainland ChinaChiu Man-Chung (Andy Chiu), Assistant Professor, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong19. Same-Sex Partnerships and Indian Law: Climate for a ChangePoonam Saxena, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi20. Challenges to Compulsory Heterosexuality: Recognition and Non-Recognition of Same-Sex Couples in Israeli LawAeyal M. Gross, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Tel-Aviv UniversitySection E-Europe21. The Danish Registered Partnership Act, 1989: Has the Act Meant a Change in Attitudes?Ingrid Lund-Andersen, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Aarhus22. "From Society's Point of View, Cohabitation Between Two Persons of the Same Sex is a Perfectly Acceptable Form of Family Life": A Swedish Story of Love and LegislationHans Ytterberg, Associate Judge of Appeal and Ombudsman against Discrimination because of Sexual Orientation (HomO),Stockholm23. Small Change: How the Road to Same-Sex Marriage Got Paved in the NetherlandsKees Waaldijk, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Universiteit Leiden24. "Statutory Cohabitation" Under Belgian Law: A Step Towards Same-Sex Marriage?Olivier De Schutter, Professeur adjoint, Faculté de Droit, Université catholique de Louvain Anne Weyembergh, Chercheuse, Institut d'Etudes européennes, Université libre de Bruxelles25. The "Pacte Civil de Solidarité" in France: Midway Between Marriage and CohabitationDaniel Borrillo, Maître de conférences en droit privé, Université de Paris X (Nanterre); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (laboratoire CERSA, Université de Paris II (Panthéon-Assas))26. Spain: The Heterosexual State Refuses to DisappearNicolás Pérez Cánovas, Professor of Civil Law, Universidad de Granada27. The Law on Stable Unions of Couples in the Catalonia Autonomous Community of SpainFrancesc Jaurena i Salas, Lawyer, Assistant to a Member of the Catalan Parliament, Barcelona28. Italy Walking a Tightrope Between Stockholm and the Vatican: Will Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Partnerships Ever Occur?Gioia Scappucci, Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Laws, University College, University of London 29. At the End of the Fairy Tale, Will Heidi Stay Single? Same-Sex Partnerships in SwitzerlandFrançois E Baur, Vice-Director, Legal Department, Swiss Federal Office of Culture; President, Pink Cross (Swiss Gay Federation), Bern30. The First Will Be The Last: Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Partnerships in AustriaHelmut Graupner, Lawyer; Vice-President, Austrian Society for Sex Research; President, Rechtskomitee Lambda, Vienna31. Nice on Paper: The Aborted Liberalisation of Gay Rights in HungaryLilla Farkas, Hungarian Helsinki Committee; Legal Defence Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities, Budapest32. The Legal Situation of Same-Sex Partnerships in Germany: An OverviewRoland Schimmel, Lawyer, Schimmel Buhlmann, Frankfurt am MainStefanie Heun, Legal Counsel, German Stock Exchange, Frankfurt am Main33. From Individual Protection to Recognition of Relationships? Same-Sex Couples and the Irish Experience of Sexual Orientation Law ReformLeo Flynn, Legal Secretary, Court of Justice of the European Communities, Luxembourg (Lecturer, School of Law, King's College, University of London)34. Same-Sex Partnerships in English Family LawRebecca Bailey-Harris, Professor and Dean, Faculty of Law, University of BristolPART III EUROPEAN LAWSection A-European Community Law35. The Miscegenation Analogy in Europe, or, Lisa Grant meets Adolf HitlerAndrew Koppelman, Associate Professor of Law and Political Science, Northwestern University36. Towards the Recognition of Same-Sex Partners in European Union Law: Expectations Based on Trends in National LawKees Waaldijk, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Universiteit Leiden37. Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Employment: An Evolving Role for the European UnionMark Bell, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Leicester38. Free Movement and Same-Sex Relationships: Existing EC Law and Article 13 ECElspeth Guild, Professor of European Migration Law, Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen; Partner, Kingsley Napley, London Section B-European Convention on Human Rights39. Sex: Has It Any Place in Modern Marriage?Stephen Whittle, Reader, School of Law, Manchester Metropolitan University40. Strasbourg to the Rescue? Same-Sex Partners and Parents Under the European ConventionRobert Wintemute, Reader, School of Law, King's College, University of LondonPART IV INTERNATIONAL LAW41. Will the United Nations Human Rights Committee Require Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages?Laurence R Helfer, Professor, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles42. United Nations Human Rights Law and Same-Sex Relationships: Where to from Here?Kristen L Walker, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of MelbourneConclusion Robert Wintemute, Reader, School of Law, King's College, University of London