The Council of Grand Justices is expected to release its interpretation on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage on Wednesday.
The council is to make the ruling after it received two requests for a constitutional interpretation on the issue.
One request was filed by veteran gay rights advocate Chi Chia-wei (祁家威) in 2015 after his registration of a marriage with his male partner was rejected by the household registration office in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) in 2013 and subsequent court appeals failed.
The other request was filed by the Taipei City’s Bureau of Civil Affairs, which has been receiving an increasing number of same-sex marriage registration requests since Chi’s case.
Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association research associate Lu Hsin-chieh (呂欣潔) and her partner, as well as two other same-sex couples, filed an administrative lawsuit against the bureau after their marriage applications were rejected.
The bureau in 2015 filed for a constitutional interpretation in response.
The Council of Grand Justices held a hearing on the issue on March 24, allowing supporters and opponents of marriage equality to debate whether Article 972 of the Civil Code, which states that marriage is between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional. In an unprecedented move, the debate was live-streamed.
Taiwan is the first Asian country to allow a constitutional interpretation on marriage equality.
If the judges rule that the ban is constitutional, same-sex marriage will not have legal protection. If it rules that the ban is unconstitutional, the Legislative Yuan will have to amend the law to legalize same-sex marriage.
Even as the case has been taken up by the grand justices, proposed same-sex marriage legislation is also working its way through the legislature.
Earlier this month, representatives of religious organizations and affiliated women’s associations held a rally outside the Judicial Yuan in Taipei to oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Leaders of the groups said they are defending traditional values and moral codes, and that the nation’s families are firmly based on the foundation of marriage as a “union between a man and a woman.”
Chi, on the other hand, said in a recent interview that he is optimistic, but added that his excitement is tempered by the time it has taken to get this far.
“This should have happened long ago. It’s belated justice,” he said.
A marriage equality rally in December last year drew 250,000 people, organizers said.
“It was just a one-man campaign when I started — now I have 250,000 people beside me. I am not alone in doing what is right,” Chi said.
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