Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe

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Main article: Same-sex marriage
Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in Europe¹
  Marriage
  Civil union
  Limited domestic recognition (cohabitation)
  Limited foreign recognition (residency rights)
  Unrecognized
  Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples
¹ May include recent laws or court decisions that have not yet entered into effect.
Part of the LGBT rights series
Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions and
registered partnerships
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. KoN: Performed in the Netherlands proper, including the Caribbean Netherlands. Registered in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. NZ: Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. UK: Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. US: Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. Israel: Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. EU: The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. Cambodia: Recognition of a "declaration of family relationship", which may be useful in matters such as housing, but they are not legally binding.
  8. China: Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. HK: Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. India: Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. Japan: Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. Namibia: Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
  13. Romania: Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
* Not yet in effect
LGBT portal

Debate has occurred throughout the European Union over a proposal which would require each member to legally recognize each other's same-sex marriages as well as any member's civil unions and registered partnerships. Debate on this issue has continued for some time, and has recently revived.[1][2]

Of the 27 member states in the European Union, four legally recognize same-sex marriage, namely Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. An additional eleven have a form of civil union, registered partnership or unregistered cohabitation.[3] Of those, the United Kingdom grants the identical rights of marriage under such unions but with a different name. An assortment of cities in Italy have also created forms of registered civil unions, though included benefits are slim to none, making the unions a largely symbolic provision. In comparison, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland constitutionally define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Future legislation

At the moment, four countries (Luxembourg, Iceland, Portugal and Slovenia) have confirmed their intent to vote on same-sex marriage bills sometime in 2009 (Iceland is not an EU member, although it has announced its intention to acceede to the Union). A same-sex marriage bill will be re-introduced in Portugal after September 2009 if the ruling Socialist Party, which for the first time ever has clarified its support for same-sex marriage legislation, wins the national election that will be held on the 27th September. The Socialist Party along with the broad left has won this election.[4] In Iceland, the government has announced its intention to reconstruct its marriage laws to make them gender-neutral.[5] In Slovenia, the minister announced that the government would vote on a same-sex marriage bill in the near future after the government agreed that same-sex couples were entitled to the same rights as opposite-sex couples.[6] There have also been discussions of Denmark legalizing same-sex marriage, though due to the current party in power, such legislation is not likely this year.

While debates in the nations of Italy and Poland have been far from unknown, national legislation of same-sex unions in any form is very unlikely in the near future due to more conservative views on the debate throughout the nations, mainly due to religious reasons, such as the heavy influence of the Catholic Church in many EU nations.

Austria, Estonia and Ireland are expected to legalize civil unions or registered partnerships within the next two years.[citation needed]

Public opinion

Public support from EU members is the greatest in the Netherlands (82%), Sweden (71%), Denmark, (69%), Spain (66%), Belgium (65%), Luxembourg (58%), Germany (52%) and the Czech Republic (52%).[7] However, other polls have also placed Germany and France between 54% to 65%[8], the UK at 61%.[9] In comparison, support tends to be the lowest from former-Communist states, such as Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The average percentage of support for same-sex marriage in the European Union is 44%, which had descended from a previous percentage of 53%, due to more socially-conservative nations joining the EU.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ 365gay.com
  2. ^ gayrights.change.org
  3. ^ The 11 are: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
  4. ^ SSM legislation Portugal
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ Slovenia to legalize same-sex marriage soon: minister
  7. ^ a b EU Public Opinion: SSM
  8. ^ http://www.lejdd.fr/cmc/societe/200826/couples-homosexuels-les-francais-sont-pour-l-adoption_129096.html
  9. ^ Church 'out of touch' as public supports equal rights for homosexuals, The Times, 27 June 2009
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