In a landmark decision, Hong Kong’s top court on Tuesday ruled in favour of granting equal inheritance and housing benefits to same-sex couples. Hong Kong in September this year granted a partial victory to LGBTI activist Jimmy Sham, who had been seeking recognition of his overseas same-sex marriage recognised since 2018.

The ruling is a major win for the city’s LGBTQ community, as it marks a significant step towards equal treatment in a city where same-sex couples have long faced legal challenges. While Hong Kong’s top court had refused to recognise same-sex marriages in September, it had ordered the city to formulate an alternative framework within two years.

The Court of Final Appeal’s unanimous decision dismissed appeals from the Hong Kong government, which had argued that same-sex couples married overseas should not be entitled to the same housing benefits and inheritance rights as heterosexual couples, according to a report by The Associated Press.

This ruling concludes years of legal battles over policies that excluded same-sex married couples from receiving subsidised housing and inheritance protections.

Court slams govt’s housing policies

Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, in his judgment, criticised the government’s housing policies, which had argued that benefits for opposite-sex married couples would increase the supply of subsidised housing for them. However, the court found no evidence to support the claim that allowing same-sex couples to access these benefits would harm heterosexual couples.

“The challenged policies cannot be justified,” Chief Justice Cheung wrote.

Punjab Khabarnama

Punjab Khabarnama

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