Council of State rules against gay marriage transcriptions
(ANSA) - Rome, October 27 - Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, leader of the small centre-right government partner NCD, was jubilant on Tuesday after the Council of State, Italy's highest administrative court, upheld his claim that same-sex marriages contracted abroad cannot be transcribed in civil registers in Italy. "Last year my circular banning the transcription of gay marriages contracted abroad drew controversy, sometimes even violent aggression and a hail of appeals.
Now the Council of State has borne me out entirely: marriage between two people of the same sex is not contemplated under Italian law, therefore the transcriptions made by local mayors are illegal and monitoring is the competence of the prefect.
Very good," Alfano said. The ruling, which overturned an earlier verdict by the Lazio regional administrative tribunal (TAR) that transcriptions in civil registers of gay marriages contracted abroad could only be annulled by court order, was a blow to gay rights campaigners tired of waiting for lawmakers to give same-sex couples some form of legal recognition in Italy.
Senator and foreign ministry undersecretary Benedetto Della Vedova described the ruling as "a victory for none and a defeat for all". "It is the defeat of a country that remains at the starting post as regards gay rights, which urgently need to be regulated," he said. Parliament is currently considering a bill introducing civil unions for same-sex couples, which has already met with strong opposition. Last year Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino walked into administrative no-man's-land when he transcribed the marriage of 16 same-sex couples contracted abroad into the city registry.
Alfano subsequently ordered the prefect to annul the transcriptions and cancel them from the registry but Marino stuck by his guns, lodging an administrative appeal. He had the support of other city mayors around the country who had made similar transcriptions.
Very good," Alfano said. The ruling, which overturned an earlier verdict by the Lazio regional administrative tribunal (TAR) that transcriptions in civil registers of gay marriages contracted abroad could only be annulled by court order, was a blow to gay rights campaigners tired of waiting for lawmakers to give same-sex couples some form of legal recognition in Italy.
Senator and foreign ministry undersecretary Benedetto Della Vedova described the ruling as "a victory for none and a defeat for all". "It is the defeat of a country that remains at the starting post as regards gay rights, which urgently need to be regulated," he said. Parliament is currently considering a bill introducing civil unions for same-sex couples, which has already met with strong opposition. Last year Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino walked into administrative no-man's-land when he transcribed the marriage of 16 same-sex couples contracted abroad into the city registry.
Alfano subsequently ordered the prefect to annul the transcriptions and cancel them from the registry but Marino stuck by his guns, lodging an administrative appeal. He had the support of other city mayors around the country who had made similar transcriptions.