The judge said Russia should ‘create family relations different from the usual understanding of the union between a man and a woman’
A judge from Russia said his country should legalize same-sex unions.
Dmitry Dedov sits on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). He shared his official ‘dissenting opinion’ in a written statement.
Dedov also argued that Russia should ‘create family relations different from the usual understanding of the union between a man and a woman’.
Dedov’s statement came on the same day that the ECHR declared many of Russia’s actions against LGBTI people as illegal. The court found 51 cases between 2009 and 2014 violated the human right to freedom of assembly and legal protection.
‘I believe that compromise and social harmony could be found on the basis of mutual respect for human rights and, in particular, for the rights of minorities who do not seek to promote their own way of life, but rather seek recognition of their civil rights, their respect and protection of the state,’ Dedov wrote in the statement.
‘I mean the right to create family relationships that differ from the usual understanding of the union between a man and a woman. Legal recognition of such partnerships can be a starting point for the protection of all other needs usually arising between family members.’
What do his words mean?
But LGBTI advocates and legal experts told Kommersant that Dedov’s statement is unlikely to have much impact.
‘A dissenting opinion is a statement of the position of the judge who does not agree with the opinion of the majority or his motivation. It can be invoked, but it has no independent legal consequences,’ said lawyer Sergei Golubok.
Igor Kochetkov of the Russian LGBT Network said they wanted basic human rights before pushing for same-sex unions.
‘What kind of same-sex unions can be discussed if we are currently deprived of basic civil rights, such as freedom of assembly,’ he said.
Kochetkov said Russian authorities would have fined Dedov if he made the statement on Russian soil.
‘He spoke about homosexual relations in a positive way, and the law on the so-called gay law,’ Kochetkov said.
Russia introduced the ‘gay propaganda’ law in 2013 which prohibits citizens from portraying LGBTI issues in a positive light.
by Shannon Power
Source – Gay Star News
