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Greek court recognizes UK custody order to the non-biological parent in the context of a married same-sex couple
Greece still forms part of the EU Member States group not recognizing same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples do enjoy however some rights. The latest challenging issue concerned custody rights of a same-sex couple married abroad. The Thessaloniki Court of Appeal reversed the first instance ruling, and recognized an English custody order [Thessaloniki CoA, decision published on January 24, 2022, unreported].
FACTS: The appellant (Parent A) is a woman of Greek and American nationality. Her partner was a woman of American national (Parent B). They registered their partnership in the UK on 20 August 2013. Nearly a month later, Parent B gave birth to a child. The partners married in January 2015. Parent A. filed an application for child custody and parenting arrangements order in the UK. The court granted the application, and ordered that the child stays with the psychological (non-biological) mother on the basis of previous decisions concerning parental responsibility rights issued in the same country. In addition, the court ordered that the child reside with Parent A., and it issued an order to remove the child permanently to Greece. Finally, the same court arranged the contact rights of the biological mother. The UK order was issued by the High Court – Family Division in Chelmsford, and it was final. Parent A. filed an application for the recognition and enforcement of the UK order before the Court of First Instance in Thessaloniki.
The Court refused recognition. It entered into an analysis of the public policy defense, culminating in the conclusion, that the forum judge is obliged to defend national public policy, while at the same time demonstrating respect towards the state’s international obligations. To that end, a proportionality test of the domestic public policy with Article 8 ECHR standards is imperative. Following the above introduction, the court declared that same-sex marriage, and any subsequent relations emanating thereof are not allowed in Greece. A detailed presentation of the first instance court reasoning may be found here.
Parent A appealed.
THE DECISION: Unlike the lower instance court, the Thessaloniki CoA primarily underlined the European context of the dispute, citing Articles 21 et seq of the Brussels II bis Regulation. It then referred to a significant number of pertinent provisions, such as: Articles 8, 12 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights; articles 23 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); articles 7 and 9 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; the Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation; Greek Civil Union law nr. 4356/2015; article 21 of the Greek Constitution, on the protection of family; directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States; and finally, articles 2 and 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), ratified in Greece by law nr. 2101/1992.
On the grounds of the above references, the CoA found no violation of the Greek public policy, and reversed the ruling of the first instance court. In particular, the CoA emphasized two points:
- The diversity of views, i.e., the non-recognition of same sex marriage in Greece may not result to the infringement of the child’s best interests, reflected in the UK court findings.
- The ruling of the first instance court results to the discrimination of children on the grounds of their parents’ sexual orientation.
The battle for full equality is not yet won. A couple of days after the decision of the Thessaloniki CoA was published, the Athens CoA refused recognition to a South African adoption decree issued upon the application of a same-sex (male) couple. Yet again, public policy was the defense hindering recognition. To sum up: Same sex couples may not marry or adopt children in Greece; they may however be appointed as foster parents, and exercise custody rights. Hence, equality evolves in a piecemeal fashion. And last but not least, let us not forget: the Supreme Court has the final word.
ICCS plurilingual forms present and future of international cooperation in civil status matters: Conference on 21 September 2022
The International Commission on Civil Status (ICCS / CIEC in French) is organising a conference on 21 September 2022 entitled: ICCS plurilingual forms Present and future of international cooperation in civil status matters.
This event is being held on the occasion of the entry into force of the Convention (n°34) relative à la délivrance d’extraits et de certificats plurilingues et codés d’actes de l’état civil for the following States: Belgium, Germany and Switzerland (as of 1 July 2022).
Speeches and discussions will be in French or English with simultaneous interpretation.
The venue of the conference is Château de Pourtalès, 161, rue Mélanie, 67000 STRASBOURG – France.
Registration is free of charge but mandatory. Interested persons should send a message to:
Below is the agenda (see also here Conference program):
8.30 am : Welcome speech
Jeannine Dennewald, President of the ICCS
8.40 am : Opening speech
Hans van Loon, former Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law
Morning session : 9.00 – 12.15 am : Improving plurilingual forms
Chair : Paul Lagarde, Emeritus professor, University Paris I, former secretary general of the ICCS
9.00 – 10.30 am : workshop n°1 : Plurilingual forms and sex of persons: same-sex couples, neutral sex and third sex
Speaker : Patrick Wautelet, Professor, University of Liège
Discussion : Dr Bojana Zadravec, President of the Slovenian Association of Administrative Staff, EVS (European Association of Registars)
10.30 – 10.45 am : break
10.45 am – 12.15 pm : workshop n°2 : Plurilingual forms and filiation: the relevance of adapting to diversity
Speaker : Olivier Guillod, Professor, University of Neuchâtel
Discussion : Hague Conference representative
12.15 – 12.30 pm : The ICCS: dynamic transition to the future
Nicolas Nord, Secretary General of the ICCS
Afternoon session : 2.00 – 6.00 pm : Optimizing the circulation of plurilingual forms
Chair : Anatol Dutta, Professor, University of Munich
2.00 – 2.30 pm : workshop n°3 : Plurilingual forms and European rights: from the public documents regulation to the recognition of situations
Speaker : Camille Reitzer, Deputy Secretary General of the ICCS
Discussion : Marie Vautravers, European Commission
3.30 – 4.00 pm : break
4.00 – 5.30 pm : workshop n°4 : Plurilingual forms, digitization and data protection: the need for a specific regime
Speaker : Guillermo Palao Moreno, Professor, University of Valencia
Discussion : ANUSCA representative – Alexander Schuster, University of Graz
5.30 – 6.00 pm : General conclusion
Andreas Bucher, Emeritus Professor, University of Geneva
Long Live the Regulation? Brussels II ter Regulation becomes fully applicable
(by Krzysztof Pacula and Thalia Kruger)
Starting from 1 August 2022, the Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 of 29 June 2019 on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (recast) became fully applicable, replacing the Brussels II Regulation. This Regulation is called Brussels IIter by some; Brussels IIb by others, Brussels IIbis (recast) by yet others, or simply Regulation 2019/1111 (thanks to its easy number). Brussels IIb will probably prevail, as this is the name that the Commission seems to be opting for.