Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan have won their right to have a legal union by way of civil partnership rather than marriage.  The couple, who have two young children, argued successfully in the Supreme Court that the ban on different sex couples entering into civil partnerships is “incompatible” with human rights laws. 

Ms Steinfeld’s and Mr Keidan’s barrister had argued in the Court of Appeal that the couple have “deep-rooted and genuine ideological objections to marriage”, were not alone in their views, and their objections were “not frivolous”. 

The Court of Appeal had already agreed that the couple had established a potential violation of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights relating to discrimination and respect for private and family life.  The couple were, however, defeated in the Court of Appeal who allowed them to appeal to the Supreme Court. 

In a civil partnership, a couple is entitled to the same legal treatment in terms of inheritance, tax, pensions and next-of-kin arrangements as marriage, but to date this has only been available for same-sex couples by virtue of the Civil Partnership Act 2004.