16.1.13
The European Court of Human Rights is to convene on Wednesday to decide whether Greece’s refusal to legally recognize same-sex civil partnerships constitutes a breach of the right to privacy.
A number of complaints were filed in May 2009 by Grigoris Valianatos, Nikolaos Mylonas and members of “Synthesi”, a charitable NGO offering psychological and moral support to homosexuals. The Court however decided in September of 2012 to refer the case to the Court Assembly. Messrs. Valianatos and Mylonas will be represented by the Helsinki Monitor, while the NGO by the Alevizatos – Mallios legal firm.
The plaintiffs argued that the 3719/2008 Greek law about civil partnerships, grants that right only to couples of the opposite sex, excluding same-sex couples, which they feel is in violation of the right to privacy and the prohibition of discrimination. They also argued that there is no effective process for their complaints to be dealt with in the Greek courts.
