Consequently, it cannot be said that Article 12 is inapplicable to the applicants' complaint"  Judge Malinverni in his concurrence has objected to this "obiter dictum":   Article 12 is inapplicable to persons of the same sex. Admittedly, in guaranteeing the right to marry, Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union deliberately omitted any reference to men and women, since it provides that “the right to marry and to found a family shall be guaranteed in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights”. In my opinion, however, no inferences can be drawn from this as regards the interpretation of Article 12 of our Convention. The commentary on the Charter does indeed confirm that the drafters of Article 8 intended it to be broader in scope than the corresponding articles in other international treaties. However, it should not be forgotten that Article 8 of the Charter guarantees the right to marry and to found a family “in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights”. By referring in this way to the relevant domestic legislation, Article 8 of the Charter simply leaves it to States to decide whether they wish to afford homosexual couples the right to marry. However, as the commentary quite rightly points out, “there is no obstacle to recognize same-sex relationships in the context of marriage. There is, however, no explicit requirement that domestic laws should facilitate such marriages.” In my view, Article 8 of the Charter should therefore have no bearing on the interpretation of Article 12 of the Convention as conferring a right to marry only on persons of different sexes  Judges Rozakis, Jebens and Spielmann submitted a joint dissenting opinion, arguing that lack of legal recognition of same-sex couples in Austria before 2010 constituted violation of Article 14 in conjunction with Article 8. Judge Malinverni, joined by judge Kovler, submitted a concurring opinion, arguing that Article 12 could under no circumstances be construed as referring to same-sex couples. A request of the unsuccessful applicants to refer the case to a Grand Chamber was rejected by the Court.