London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Gay marriage case on road to Privy Council

Gay marriage case on road to Privy Council

Lawyers acting for Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden, a same-sex couple who have been battling in the courts for the right to marry or at least engage in a lawful civil union, have filed an application to take the fight to the Privy Council in the UK. Attorney Ben Tonner confirmed Wednesday that the documents had been filed with the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, which is the body that grants final leave to appeal to the highest court for British Overseas Territories and some Commonwealth countries .

Given that the local appeal court usually grants such leave, Tonner said,
“Once it does so, we will be filing an appeal in the Judicial Committee of The Privy Council (JCPC).”

Day and Bodden began their battle to marry several years ago. It began outside the courts when they wrote to government urging the creation in Cayman of some form of civil union law that would allow same-sex couples equality to the rights afforded by marriage, if not marriage itself.

However, despite a clear ruling from the European Court of Human Rights more than four years ago that this jurisdiction should enact such legislation, the government has failed to do so.

As a result, after being refused a marriage licence, the couple turned to the courts for duress. In a landmark ruling, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie found in their favour and legalised same sex marriage by making minor amendments from the bench to the Marriage Law, after finding that government had made no effort to address the clear violation of the couple’s human rights on several grounds

This outraged government, members of the Legislative Assembly and some conservative elements of the community, in particular several church leaders and their congregations. Therefore, government filed for a stay of CJ Smellie’s decision to allow for an appeal.

While the appeal court found that the government was not obligated to offer marriage and that it had clearly tried to avoid that eventuality in both the constitution and the law, it overturned the chief justice’s ruling. However, the court made it clear that government must offer some form of civil partnership akin to marriage to same sex couples immediately.

But although government has claimed that legislation to meet the appeal court’s direction is being drafted, the direction that it be implemented “expeditiously” has not been met. There is no sign that the draft bill will appear before the parliament in the forthcoming session at the end of this month. So, after almost three months since the appeal court made that ruling, the law is unlikely to appear before legislators for several more months, if at all.

With government still dragging its heels on a same-sex union law, Day and Bodden are continuing their fight for the ultimate equality of marriage and will be calling on the UK’s Privy Council to uphold the chief justice’s ruling. Tonner is expected to argue that the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal should have interpreted the local Constitution as protecting and promoting the rights and freedoms of the people, as the chief justice had, instead of taking the opposite position.

Gay marriage is now legal all across the UK, and the British government has continued to encourage its territories to also implement marriage equality. The Privy Council was expected to hear an appeal from the government of Bermuda after years of wrangling in their courts over the same issue, though in that case the appeal court there had upheld the change to the marriage law by the lower courts.

However, according to news coming from Bermuda just this week, the case may not make it before the JCPC after the government lawyers there missed a critical deadline for re-submissions.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×