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The Equal Opportunities Commission Welcomes Allen & Overy’s Report Entitled “The Recognition and Treatment of Relationships under Hong Kong Law”
26/06/2019
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has uploaded on its website a report released by Allen & Overy today (26 June 2019) regarding the recognition and treatment of relationships under Hong Kong law.
The pro-bono report was commissioned by the EOC following its 2016 Discrimination Law Review (DLR), which highlighted that Hong Kong’s marital and family status anti-discrimination laws only protect those who are recognised as married by Hong Kong law. Allen & Overy’s report builds upon DLR, by identifying other areas of Hong Kong law in which an individual’s relationship status impacts their legal rights and obligations.
“The EOC commends the professional efforts put up by Allen & Overy in conducting the study and producing the report,” said Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin, Chairperson of the EOC. “The report is excellently informative and raises a whole set of issues regarding the recognition and treatment of relationships under Hong Kong Law. It has been uploaded on the EOC official website today as it is a very valuable reference for the EOC and we would study the issues raised in the report in our assessment of discrimination issues in the relevant areas in future. ”
This report provides an unprecedented review of legislation in Hong Kong, identifying differential treatment between opposite-sex marriages and other alternative relationships, such as same-sex marriages, as well as opposite or same-sex cohabiting couples and civil partners. Allen & Overy’s report analyses 21 areas of Hong Kong law and considers examples of differential treatment evident within each area.
For more details, please read Allen & Overy’s report, press release and watch the video which summarises the findings:
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Equal Opportunities Commission
26 June 2019
