CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Raskevicius, Tomas Vytautas |
|---|---|
| Title | Emerging European Consensus on Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Relationships: a Comparative Study of Lithuania and Ireland |
| Summary | This thesis seeks to address two major issues, namely whether the current status of international human rights law could be interpreted as requiring at least certain degree of legal recognition of same-sex relationships and to what extent these international developments (if any) are capable of influencing situation on legal recognition in domestic jurisdictions. The current status of international human rights law is explored through analyzing treaty provisions, relevant decisions by judicial entities and resolutions and recommendations by various bodies within the framework of the UN, the CoE and the EU. It is argued that at the moment the international human rights law is settled only on prohibiting direct discrimination between different-sex and same-sex couples in comparable situation. The impact of international developments on domestic legal systems is assessed through analyzing the public discourse and national developments towards legal recognition of same-sex relationships in two jurisdictions, namely in Ireland and in Lithuania. It is argued that international standards (both legally binding and non-binding) do not necessarily produce identical outcomes in domestic legal systems and that the actual recognition of same-sex relationships is highly dependent upon the particularities of national circumstances. Finally, the thesis seeks to generate specific guidelines in order to develop a comprehensive national strategy for promoting the idea of legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Lithuania. It is argued that the strategically refined (i.e. adapted to national circumstances) claims could actually result in an increased domestic willingness to embrace international norms. It is concluded that, despite the limited impact of international human rights standards, the good practices of promoting the idea of legal recognition from one jurisdiction could be successfully utilized in another jurisdiction, only if adapted to national particularities accordingly. |
| Supervisor | Uitz, Renáta & Polgári, Eszter |
| Department | Legal Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/raskevicius_tomas.pdf |
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