UK court rules against heterosexual civil partnerships

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – A heterosexual British couple on Tuesday lost a high-profile court case in which they sought legal recognition for their six-year relationship.

Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan launched a legal battle when their relationship was not recognized as a ‘civil partnership’ -- a legal status used by some same-sex couples in the U.K.

The Court of Appeal said a previous judgment by the High Court on their case was right and that civil partnership status was only for same-sex relationships, thereby denying the status to heterosexual couples.

Steinfeld and Keidan challenged the High Court decision in November last year and argued the law was discriminatory to unmarried couples.

Speaking to Sky News ahead of Tuesday's ruling, Steinfeld said there was "nothing wrong with marriage".

"Marriage is a very meaningful expression of people's love and commitment for one another, but it is not right for everybody," she added.

Same-sex marriage was made legal in most of the U.K. in 2014 but such couples can also live together under the civil partnership status which gives them similar legal rights and financial protection.