General Reports of the XVIIIth Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law/Rapports Généraux du XVIIIème Congrès de l’Académie Internationale de Droit Comparé pp 115-141 | Cite as
Same Sex Marriage
Abstract
Same sex cohabitation is banned or unrecognized in most of the world. In the last 30 years, approximately 20% of countries have granted some rights to same sex couples. Countries have moved from total rejection of same sex relationships to acceptance of some sort. At the center of the debate is the role of marriage, which some claim is essentially heterosexual and the basis for societal structure. Others consider exclusion of same sex marriage unfair discrimination. Apart from the right to marriage, there a complex questions concerning parental rights, dissolution of same sex unions, and other family-law related matters.