The Freedom to Marry in Human Rights Law Worldwide: Ending the Exclusion of Same-Sex Couples from Marriage

In 2017, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued OC-24/17, a breakthrough advisory opinion that made the Court the first human rights mechanism to explicitly hold that States have an obligation to respect same-sex couples' freedom to marry. This Article is the first since OC-24/17 was issued to analyze comprehensively the extent to which human rights law, across international, regional, and national jurisprudence, requires States to respect the freedom to marry. It argues for the reassessment of Joslin v. New Zealand and Schalk and Kopf v. Austria, earlier cases from other human rights bodies that acknowledge the rights of same-sex couples to equality and family, but so far have fallen short of ending marriage discrimination. The Article then makes the case for these couples' freedom to marry as rooted in the right to marry, the rights to equality and non-discrimination, the rights to privacy and family, and the rights to liberty and dignity, as well as, under certain circumstances, the rights of children and parents, the right to freedom of movement, and the right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment. This Article not only argues that human rights law can be understood to protect the freedom to marry, but also demonstrates why it is urgent that it should be so understood.

本研究探讨了国际、地区和国家法域中人权法在保障同性伴侣结婚自由方面的要求，尤其是在2017年美洲人权法院发布的OC-24/17意见之后，法院首次明确表示国家有义务尊重同性伴侣结婚的自由。文章重新审视了之前的案件，如Joslin v. New Zealand和Schalk and Kopf v. Austria，这些案件承认同性伴侣平等与家庭的权利，但未能彻底结束婚姻歧视。研究进一步论证了同性伴侣的结婚自由不仅与结婚权利、平等与不歧视权、隐私与家庭权、自由与尊严权相关，还涉及在特定情况下儿童和父母的权利、自由流动的权利，以及免受不人道或有辱人格待遇的权利。此文主张，理解人权法应当包括对结婚自由的保护，并强调这一保护的重要性。

本研究采用了文献分析法，全面回顾了国际、地区和国家法域中的人权法判例，尤其是自2017年美洲人权法院发布OC-24/17意见以来的相关判决。研究通过比较不同人权机构的裁决，重点分析了早期案例（如Joslin v. New Zealand和Schalk and Kopf v. Austria），评估其对同性伴侣结婚自由的承认，并探讨这些判决在结束婚姻歧视方面的不足。通过这一分析，文章提出了同性伴侣结婚自由应当纳入人权法保护的论点，并论证了这一保护的迫切性。

本研究强调国家在国际人权法下应确认同性伴侣的结婚自由，并呼吁联合国人权委员会和欧洲人权法院重新评估其相关判例。美洲人权法院的OC-24/17案提供了对结婚自由、平等、隐私、家庭、自由与尊严权的更为准确的解释，应该为这一评估提供参考。研究指出，排除同性伴侣的结婚权带来了严重的尊严损害，延迟承认结婚自由的代价巨大，法院应尽快承认同性伴侣的结婚自由。