The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government plans on Wednesday to introduce a bill to the city’s legislature to allow same-sex partnership registration.

The move follows a 2023 landmark court decision requiring the government to create an “alternative framework” to recognize “core rights” of same-sex couples by October this year.

In a document submitted to the Legislative Council (LegCo) in early July, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau proposed establishing a registration mechanism for same-sex couples.

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Legally recognized same-sex partners will be granted specific rights and obligations. These include the authority to manage medical affairs, such as visiting their partners in hospitals, accessing medical information, making medical decisions, and overseeing organ transplant procedures. Additionally, they will have the ability to handle posthumous matters for their deceased partners.

Under the mechanism, the government will set up a same-sex partnership registry to handle the applications, and the registrar will be a public officer appointed by the secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs.

Once receiving an application, the registrar will verify the information and meet the couple in person and oversee the oath-taking. A certificate will be issued if the conditions are met for same-sex couples as legal evidence of the registration. The registrar is empowered to revoke the partnership registration if the partnership registered overseas has been dissolved, or if forged document or false statements were used.

The draft bill also outlined that applicants must meet six criteria to register. These include both parties being over 18, being a valid same-sex, civil partnership or civil union registered outside Hong Kong. In addition, at least one of the two people should be a Hong Kong resident.

In 2023, in a legal bid brought forward by Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, the Court of Final Appeal affirmed the city’s law’s marriage definition between a man and a woman while requiring the government to set out a framework in two years, no later than October this year, and to recognize “core-rights” of same-sex couples.

The bureau emphasized that such registered relationships are distinct from marriage.

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“When establishing an alternative framework for legal recognition of same-sex partnerships, the HKSAR government must avoid causing any impact on Hong Kong’s marriage system and traditional social values, and must make it clear that same-sex partnerships registered under the alternative framework are not equivalent to marital relationships,” the paper read.

Some lawmakers raised concerns about the potential impact of the alternative framework on Hong Kong’s current marriage system and core values, warning of possible negative effects on society. Conversely, other legislators highlighted that aligning the implementation of this framework with the CFA’s ruling is in accordance with the principles of the rule of law, the Bureau added.

In addition to carefully balancing these various suggestions, the bureau said it also considered Hong Kong’s social structures, family dynamics, and traditional values while formulating the framework. Alongside aligning with practical realities and societal expectations, the bureau pledged to protect registrants’ rights and preventing any potential misuse.

Contact the writer at amberwu@chinadailyhk.com