In May 2018, the Court of Cassation ruled that same-sex marriages performed abroad cannot be recognized in Italy. Instead, couples must register their partnerships as a civil union, regardless of whether they wed before or after Italy introduced civil unions in 2016. The ruling is the final judgement on an appeal lodged by an Italian-Brazilian couple who married in Brazil in 2012, and then performed another ceremony in Portugal in 2013. The couple sought to have their marriage recognized under Italian law in Milan but were denied, prompting them to mount a legal challenge that made its way to Italy's highest court. The judges agreed with an earlier appeals court ruling on the case, which stated that Italian law would recognise married same-sex couples only as civil unions. The Italian-Brazilian couple argued that the move constituted discriminatory "downgrading" of their relationship status. The Court of Cassation, however, judged that civil unions provide most of the same legal protections as marriages, and therefore could not be considered discrimination. "Same-sex marriage does not correspond to the model of matrimony outlined in our legal system," the judges stated, ruling that Italy may legitimately use its "legislative discretion" to exclude same-sex couples from marriage so long as a valid alternative is available to them.