Constitutional Courts, Gay Rights and Sexual Orientation Equality: 14 (Hart Studies in Comparative Public Law) - Hardcover

Angioletta Sperti

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1782256423 ISBN 13: 9781782256427

Publisher: Hart Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

In the last fifteen years constitutional issues regarding the rights of gays, lesbians and same-sex couples have emerged on a global scale. The pace of recognition of their fundamental rights, both at judicial and legislative level, has dramatically increased across different jurisdictions, reflecting a growing consensus toward sexual orientation equality.

This book considers a wide-range of decisions by constitutional and international courts, from the decriminalization of sexual acts to the recognition of same-sex marriage and parental rights for same-sex couples. It discusses analogies and differences in judicial arguments and rationales in such cases, focusing in particular on human dignity, privacy, liberty, equality and non-discrimination.

It argues that courts operate as major exporters of models and principles and that judicial cross-fertilization also helps courts in increasing the acceptability of gays’ and lesbians’ rights in public opinions and politics. Courts discuss changes in the social perception of marriage and family at national and international levels and at the same time confirm and reinforce them, forging the legal debate over sexual orientation equality. Furthermore, by promoting the political reception of the achievements of foreign gay movements in their own jurisdictions, courts play an essential role in breaking the political stalemate.

About this title

About the Author

Angioletta Sperti is Associate Professor of Comparative Public Law at the University of Pisa, Italy, where she teaches comparative constitutional law and human rights law. Her main research interests include constitutional justice, comparative legal systems, and LGBT rights. She has also conducted extensive research on presidential accountability and impeachment in the Italian system of government.

Angioletta holds an Ll.M from UCLA (USA) and a PhD from Scuola Superiore S. Anna (Italy). She is the author of three monographs (in Italian) on the Italian constitutional court (Corti supreme e conflitti tra poteri, 2003), presidential accountability (La responsibilità del Presidente della Repubblica, 2010) and the dialogue among constitutional courts on LGBT rights (Omosessualità e diritti, 2013). She regularly contributes to articolo29.it, a legal website focusing on the advancement of LGBT rights in Italy and is a member of the editorial board of GenIUS, an Italian law review on gender and sexual orientation equality.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1782256423
• ISBN 13: 9781782256427
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256