Recognition of same-sex unions in Kosovo

Civil unions

Kosovo does not recognize civil unions (, ; , sr, ) which would offer same-sex couples some of the rights, benefits and obligations of marriage. Despite not being a member state of the Council of Europe, Kosovo is de facto under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In January 2023, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Fedotova and Others v. Russia that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees a right to private and family life, imposes a positive obligation on all member states of the Council of Europe to establish a legal framework recognizing same-sex partnerships. The court later issued similar rulings with respect to Poland in Przybyszewska and Others, Romania in Buhuceanu and Others, Bulgaria in Koilova and Babulkova, and Ukraine in Maymulakhin and Markiv.

On 7 July 2020, Minister of Justice Selim Selimi announced that the government planned to introduce a new civil code "within a few months" that would legalize same-sex civil partnerships. The move was criticised by some LGBT rights groups because it entrenched a legal distinction between opposite-sex and same-sex couples. If the civil code had been passed, an additional law detailing the rights, benefits and obligations of civil partners would have been required. The draft was rejected at first reading by the Assembly on 16 March 2022 in a 28–29 vote with 4 abstentions.

On 25 April 2024, Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced his government's intention to legalize same-sex unions. "Kosovo will make an effort to soon become the second country in the Western Balkans, after Montenegro, which guarantees its citizens the right to a same-sex life partnership. We will work hard to pass this in the near future", said Kurti, who also announced his government's intention to meet the rights and needs of the Serbian minority.

Same-sex marriage

In 2014, the President of the Constitutional Court, Enver Hasani, said that Kosovo de jure allows same-sex marriage. Hasani based his reasoning on Article 24(2) of the Constitution of Kosovo, which states that "no one shall be discriminated against on grounds of race, color, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, relation to any community, property, economic and social condition, sexual orientation, birth, disability or other personal status." Additionally, Article 37 of the Constitution states:

Article 14 of the Law on Family (; , sr) defines marriage as a "legally registered community of two persons of different sexes," though LGBT activists have argued that this wording contradicts Article 24 of the Constitution and have called on same-sex couples to challenge the law in court.

Public opinion

A December 2022 Ipsos survey showed that 20% of Kosovars considered same-sex marriage "acceptable" (9% "completely" and 11% "mainly"), while 77% considered it "unacceptable" (67% "completely" and 10% "mainly"). This represented an increase of support from 2015 when 12% of Kosovars supported same-sex marriage. With regard to specific rights, 45% of respondents supported the right of same-sex couples to receive survivor pension benefits in case of the partner's death.

Notes

References

References

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