An Incomplete Victory: The Implications of QT v Director of Immigration for the Protection of Gay Rights in Hong Kong |
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| Authors: | Kai Yeung Wong |
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| Institution: | 1. Candidate for Doctor of Legal Science, University of Hong Kong;2. founding member of Law Lay Dream, a Hong Kong‐based online legal commentary group. The author has benefited greatly from the informal discussions he had with Cora Chan and Geoffrey Yeung, whose penetrating insights into various issues addressed in this note have been illuminating. A debt of heartfelt gratitude is owed to them, and also to the anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on the original draft. All errors that remain are solely the author's own. |
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| Abstract: | QT v Director of Immigration is the most important decision on gay rights in Hong Kong since the unequal ages of consent between heterosexuals and homosexuals were held to be unconstitutional 10 years ago. The Court of Appeal of Hong Kong affirmed the right of same‐sex couples married or in a civil partnership overseas to be treated on an equal basis with married heterosexual couples. This note considers the strengths and shortcomings of the Court of Appeal's reasoning, in terms of its potential significance both to the rights of sexual minorities and to the wider protection of human rights by means of the common law. |
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| Keywords: | Hong Kong sexual orientation marital status discrimination common law proportionality |
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