Attorney General for Bermuda (Appellant) v Ferguson and others (Respondents) (Bermuda)

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2019/0077

Jurisdiction

Bermuda

Parties

Appellant(s)

Attorney General for Bermuda

Respondent(s)

Ferguson and others

Issue

Whether Bermudian legislation providing that only marriages between a man and a woman will be recognised as such in law infringes the Bermudian constitution.

Facts

The Bermudian Parliament passed the Domestic Partnership Act 2018, which provided for same-sex couples to enter into domestic partnerships and declared that a marriage is void unless the parties are respectively male and female. The Respondents, being individuals affected by the legislation and a Bermudian church which supports and conducts same-sex marriages, applied to the Supreme Court of Bermuda for a declaration that the provisions of the 2018 Act which purported to revoke same-sex marriage contravened the Bermudian constitution. The Supreme Court of Bermuda ruled in favour of the Respondents, holding that s. 53 of the 2018 Act contravened sections 8 and 12 of the Bermudian constitution. The Court of Appeal for Bermuda allowed the Attorney General’s appeal only in part, holding that s. 53 of the 2018 Act contravened section 8 (but not section 12) of the constitution, but the Court also held that s. 53 was void on the grounds that it was enacted for a religious purpose. The Attorney General now appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Respondents are seeking to cross-appeal for a declaration that the 2018 Act contravenes section 12 of the constitution.

Date of issue

12 July 2019

Judgment details

Judgment date

14 March 2022

Neutral citation

[2022] UKPC 5

Judgment links

Judgment summary

14 March 2022

Appeal

Justices

Lord Reed

Lord Hodge

Lady Arden

Lord Sales

Dame Victoria Sharp

Hearing dates

Full hearing

Start date

3 February 2021

End date

4 February 2021

Watch hearings

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