Abstract

The article comments on the recent judgment delivered by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the "Vallianatos and Others v. Greece" case, concerning discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. This ruling represents a small but significant step forward in the protection of same-sex couples, as it confirmed that in case Contracting States choose to introduce registered civil union as a legal alternative to marriage for different-sex couples they cannot exclude same-sex couples from its application.