Les couples de personnes de même sexe en droit belge, sous l'angle particulier du droit international privé

In this report written for the Utrecht Congress of the International Academy of International Law, I review the position of same sex couples, be they married or bound by a partnership, under Belgian law. Specific attention is devoted to the treatment under Belgian law of cross-border couples (couples with other nationalities than Belgian nationality, or whose habitual residence is or was established outside Belgium). Among the questions studied two stand out : first the question of who can validly conclude a same sex marriage or enter into a partnership in Belgium and second the issue of the recognition in Belgium of same sex marriages or partnerships concluded abroad.