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‘Spouse includes same-sex partners’

By AFP
January 12, 2018

LUXEMBOURG: The term “spouse” includes same-sex partners under EU law, meaning that member states cannot deny them residence rights even if gay marriage is illegal in that country, the legal advisor to the bloc’s top court said Thursday. The finding involves the case of Romanian national Adrian Coman and his American partner, Clai Hamilton, who tied the knot in Brussels in 2010 but have since been denied the right to live in Romania together. European Court of Justice Advocate General Melchior Wathelet published a legal opinion on the case. The Luxembourg-based court but not always follows the legal opinions of its advocates general.