The ECJ recognises the right of same-sex spouses to move freely between EU Member States: the Coman ruling

Abstract

In its recent Coman ruling, the European Court of Justice held that the term “spouse” includes the same-sex spouse of a Union citizen, for the purpose of the grant of family reunification rights in free movement cases. Hence, a Union citizen can rely on EU law to require the Member State of destination to admit within its territory his/her same-sex spouse, irrespective of whether that Member State has opened marriage to same-sex couples. Coman is clearly a landmark ruling of great constitutional importance which changes the legal landscape for the recognition of same-sex marriages within the EU. It is also a ruling that is hugely significant at a symbolic level, as through it, the EU’s highest court made it clear that same-sex marriages are equal to opposite-sex marriages for the purposes of EU free movement law. This article will aim to analyse the case, explaining its overall importance but also highlighting the gaps in protection that persist even after the delivery of the Court’s judgment.