Taiwan has become the first place in Asia to leaglise gay marriage today following a landmark ruling by the country’s top court.
A panel of 14 grand justices made the ruling that current regulations prohibiting marriage between partners of the same sex are unconstitutional.
Campaigners gathered in central Taipei today to hear the ruling.
The decision by Taiwan’s top court was posted online today.
The country’s top court came to the decision that a clause in Taiwan’s Civil Code which stated marriage should be between a man and a woman was unconstitutional.
Chi Chia-wei, one of the petitioners who brought the case to the constitutional court spent 30 years campaigning for same-sex marriage in the country.
According to Hong Kong Free Press, the 59-year-old first attempted to register a marriage with his male partner in 1986. He was imprisoned for five months.
In the run up to today’s decision, he urged judges to allow gay couples to register to marry the next day.
However its thought that there may be a delay between today’s ruling and its enactment by parliament which is responsible for changing the law.
The decision was released in Chinese and English due to the level of international interest.
It is thought that the ruling will help others fighting for marriage equality in South Korea and Japan.
Before the ruling, Lawyer Huang Di-ying said if the ruling was in favour of same-sex marriage then the decision would be historic.
He told AFP: ‘It will be a barometer of human rights protection in the region as Asian follows the United States’ and Europe’s steps to recognise same-sex marriages.’
Taiwan is seen as one of the most progressive societies in Asia when it comes to LGBTQ rights. The country’s president Tsai Ing-wen has openly supported marriage equality since coming to power last May.
However there have been some objections by some religious groups in the country.
“Family conflicts will increase and the whole definition of marriage will be changed,” said Andrew Chang, a spokesman for an anti-gay marriage group Alliance of Religious Groups for the Love of Families Taiwan.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.