Last week Chief Minister Ian Gorst announced that same-sex marriage will be delayed in Jersey until 2018 due to the ‘complexity’ of the proposed new laws being used to update all marriage legislation. Same-sex marriage was introduced in Guernsey earlier this year.
Advocate Barbara Corbett, a family law expert with the Jersey Law Commission, said one of the ‘complex’ issues is the fact that a heterosexual marriage can be invalidated due to adultery or if it has not been consummated. However, the same does not apply to same-sex marriages.
She said a possible solution would be the introduction of ‘no fault’ divorce. Currently, in both Jersey and the UK, the spouse filing for divorce has to find fault with their partner, which can include adultery.
However, Advocate Corbett said that by introducing ‘no fault’ divorce into legislation ‘a more progressive system would be achieved while also removing the existing difference in gay and straight marriage law’.
She added: ‘The issue of same-sex marriage is a very important one and it’s difficult not to think that had there been legal complexities delaying something in the finance sector, it would have been dealt with by now. This is very serious as it involves peoples lives.’
Her comments echo similar sentiments expressed by Frances Oldham QC, chairwoman of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, who stated in her report: ‘While the States of Jersey has always been able to provide sufficient resources to keep pace with developments in international financial law, Jersey’s child care legislation has lagged behind other jurisdictions in the developed world – often by decades.’
Vic Tanner Davy, chief executive of the the equality charity Liberate, said that the delay showed that Senator Gorst had not prioritised the issue of same-sex marriage and may have underestimated the amount of work involved in updating the marriage legislation.
‘The timing of the delay [on the eve of the Pride parade] couldn’t have come at a worse time but it works in making the point that it wasn’t treated as a priority and the Senator took his eye off the ball on this,’ he said.
According to Mr Tanner Davy there are at least four couples whose wedding plans may now be delayed.
‘People’s lives are being affected now. People can’t put down a deposit for a venue and will be bottom of the queue for next year as there is a limited amount of venues and caterers in Jersey.
‘We are meeting with Senator Gorst on 18 September and will be asking for clarity on the exact timeline people can expect. We need action.’
After the JEP contacted the States for comment regarding Advocate Corbett’s and Mr Tanner Davy’s criticism a spokeswoman repeated a statement which was sent to this paper on Friday, which read: ‘We remain wholly committed to legislating for same-sex marriage, and we appreciate that it will be frustrating for some Islanders that there has been a delay in the anticipated date of enactment.
‘However, this delay is only a result of our efforts to overhaul this area of legislation in the most complete way possible, in order to deliver real benefits for all couples wanting to get married in Jersey. These will include, as well as same-sex marriage, greater choice in where couples are able to get married, who marries them and what the content of their wedding ceremony might be. Better protections against sham and forced marriages will also be built into the new legislation.’
