The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Ukraine to legally recognize same-sex couples.
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The author of the draft law on registered partnerships, people’s deputy from Golos, Inna Sovsun, wrote about this on her social networks.
In 2014, same-sex couple Andrey Maimulakhin and Andrey Markov filed several complaints with the ECtHR, demanding official recognition by the state and registration of the relationship. Then they made a joint statement:
We, Andrey Maimulakhin and Andrey Markov, have been in a family relationship for more than 10 years. We live like a family: we have common property, mutual support and care, our beloved pets, obligations to each other and responsibility. We share all the joys and troubles, like any happy family. However, in the eyes of the state, we are just two separate people, in fact, having no mutual rights and obligations between them. We do not agree with this.
And now the European Court of Human Rights has satisfied their complaint, found Ukraine guilty of violating Art. 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights – prohibition of discrimination – in conjunction with art. 8 – the right to private and family life.
By its decisions, the ECHR obliged Ukraine to recognize the relationship of LGBT couples. This means that Ukraine, as a state party to the European Convention on Human Rights, must adopt a law that recognizes same-sex couples at the legal level and provide them with the opportunity to register their relationship as a family.
The ECtHR made similar decisions in relation to other countries, this has become a practice. The same decisions were made in due time by Italy and Greece. Very soon such an obligation awaits Poland. At the same time, the court each time analyzes the national legislation of the state: the Constitution, the family code, the practice of national courts and takes into account the explanations of the respondent government.
Failure to comply with the decision of the European Court of Human Rights is a reputational risk for Ukraine before the Council of Europe and a signal for European countries that our state is not capable of adequately protecting human rights. This could have an extremely negative impact on our integration into the EU.
Applicants who are same-sex couples were and continue to be treated differently from opposite-sex couples due to the lack of any legal recognition and protection available to the latter. The only basis for this difference in behavior is their sexual orientation,” the court stated.
The ECHR believes that Ukraine, like any other country, has an important right to take measures to protect traditional families. At the same time, the court noted that “the concept of the family is necessarily evolutionary” and already 30 member states of the Council of Europe have legalized the possibility of legal recognition of same-sex couples.
Recall, on May 23, the European Court of Human Rights also satisfied the claims of eight same-sex couples from Romania.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is considering draft law No. 9103 “On the Institute of Registered Partnerships”.
If people’s deputies support him, the new regulation will allow same-sex couples to legalize their relationship. True, such a partnership will not become a full-fledged marriage – for this you need to change the Constitution, Art. 51 which testifies that marriage “is based on the free consent of a woman and a man.”
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.