Recognition of same-sex unions in Armenia
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Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
and
civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s are not legal in
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
. The legal status of foreign same-sex marriages is unclear. On 3 July 2017, the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
reportedly stated that all
marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
s performed abroad are valid in Armenia, including marriages between people of the same sex. Article 143 of the Armenian Family Code states that Armenia recognizes foreign marriages as long as they conform with the legality of the territory where they were performed and contains no explicit prohibition of same-sex marriages. On the other hand, article 152 restricts the application of foreign law norms incompatible with the domestic public order. As of 2023, no instances of foreign same-sex marriage registrations are known. In 2019, Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan said that the government does not recognize same-sex marriages. The Constitution of Armenia is generally believed to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, although the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
has never confirmed or rejected this interpretation.Human Rights Situation in Armenia
''2015 was a regressive year for LGBT people's rights in Armenia, since the newly accepted Constitution restricted marriage as a union only between a man and a woman''


Legal history


Background

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
, , is not legal in Armenia and there is little public debate surrounding the issue. The
Government of Armenia A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
has close ties with the
Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...
, which opposes same-sex marriage.
Civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s, which would offer some of the rights of
marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
, are also not recognized in Armenia. In August 2019, the Minister of Justice, Rustam Badasyan, stated that Armenia does not recognize same-sex marriages "despite Armenia signing the
Istanbul Convention The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe against violence against women and domestic v ...
". However, Badasyan also stated that same-sex
cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...
is permitted and that violence against any person is "unacceptable". In 2006, a same-sex couple celebrated an informal wedding ceremony at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral in
Vagharshapat Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is com ...
. An article published about this improvised marriage in the "168 Zham" (168 Hours) newspaper provoked a scandal and indignation of local conservative media outlets, politicians and religious officials. In December 2017, Father Vazken Movsesian, serving in the Diocese of the West of the Apostolic Church, which is based in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, expressed his personal support for same-sex marriage, becoming one of the most high-profile supporters of same-sex marriage in the church. In an interview with Equality Armenia, Movsesian likened the historic persecution of Armenians by Turkey to the persecution faced by LGBT people. "We've been persecuted because we were not accepted, because we were different. As an Armenian Christian, how can I possibly close my eyes to what's going on in the world? And it's not just in Armenia, just everywhere, this intolerance.", he said.


Legal restrictions

Article 10 of the Family Code, adopted in 2004, states that marriage requires "the mutual voluntary consent of a man and a woman". On 18 October 2017, Deputy Tigran Urikhanyan of the
Prosperous Armenia Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP; hy, Բարգավաճ Հայաստան կուսակցություն, Bargavatch Hayastan kusaktsut’yun, abbreviated as ԲՀԿ BHK), is a conservative political party in Armenia. It was founded by businessman Gagi ...
party proposed a bill to introduce a more explicit ban on same-sex marriages in the Family Code. On 15 November 2018, the Armenian Government expressed its opposition to the bill, stating that the Family Code already prevents the recognition of same-sex marriages. "Armenia's Constitution already defines that marriage is possible only between woman and man. Besides, according to Family Code marriage is possible in case of reciprocal consent of a man and a woman and in case they are 18 years old 'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic'',_said_the_Ministry_of_Labor_and_Social_Affairs_(Armenia).html" ;"title="sic">'
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_rejected_the_bill_in_November_2019,_labelling_it_"redundant",_while_also_rejecting_a_bill_which_would_have_explicitly_banned_Same-sex_adoption.html" ;"title="National_Assembly_(Armenia).html" "title="sic''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic'', said the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Armenia)">Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The National Assembly (Armenia)">National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
rejected the bill in November 2019, labelling it "redundant", while also rejecting a bill which would have explicitly banned Same-sex adoption">adoption by same-sex couples. Article 11 of the Family Code, which lists several outlawed marriages (including bigamy, marriages between close relatives and marriages between adopters and adopted), does not contain explicit prohibitions on marriages between people of the same sex.


Constitutional amendment (2015)

The Constitution of Armenia was amended in a
constitutional referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in 2015 to read:Armenian Constitution of 2015
/ref> "''Article 35. Freedom to Marry''
''1. A woman and a man having attained the marriageable age shall have the right to marry and form a family with free expression of their will. The marriageable age and the procedure for marriage and divorce shall be prescribed by law.''
''2. A woman and a man are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.''
''3. Freedom to marry may be restricted only by law with the aim of protecting health and morals.''" Many politicians have stated that the constitutional wording bans same-sex marriage. On the other hand, members of the
Venice Commission The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...
, when analyzing the draft constitution, said that the wording "should not be interpreted as a legal obstacle to the recognition of same-sex marriages". Argam Stepanyan, the head of the Civil Status Acts Registration Agency, a division of the Ministry of Justice, later said in an interview that there is no constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage in Armenia. Several politicians and human rights activists have said that the wording "notes" the right of a man and a woman to marry, but does not explicitly state that marriage is a between a man and a woman.


Recognition of marriages performed abroad

On 3 July 2017, the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
reportedly stated that all marriages performed abroad are valid in Armenia, including marriages between people of the same sex. According to the Family Code, marriages between Armenian citizens and those between Armenian citizens and foreigners or stateless persons, which have been registered outside Armenia, are valid inside the country after consular legalization. The code makes no reference to the sexes of the married spouses and stipulates that marriages registered in another country, which are in line with that particular state's legislation, are valid in Armenia as long as they are also compliant with the Armenian public order. As of 2023, the Statistical Committee of Armenia has not documented a single case of recognition of a foreign same-sex marriage. It is not known if recognition would give such couples all the rights of marriage under domestic law.


Public opinion

A 2017 poll from the Pew Research Center showed that 91% of
Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
favored the Apostolic Church's position of not performing same-sex marriages, while 4% disagreed.


See also

*
Human rights in Armenia Human rights in Armenia tend to be better than those in most former Soviet republics and have drawn closer to acceptable standards, especially economically. Still, there are several considerable problems. Democracy and freedom rating Armenia ...
*
LGBT rights in Armenia Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Armenia face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents, due in part to the lack of laws prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gende ...
* Pink Armenia *
Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe Recognition may refer to: *Award, something given in recognition of an achievement Machine learning *Pattern recognition, a branch of machine learning which encompasses the meanings below Biometric * Recognition of human individuals, or biomet ...
*
Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia Debate has occurred throughout Asia over proposals to legalize same-sex marriage as well as civil unions. Following a Constitutional Court ruling and a subsequent legislative act, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marria ...
* Right Side NGO


Notes


References

{{Marriage amendments LGBT rights in Armenia
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...