Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

does not recognize

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 ...

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. Though these issues have been discussed frequently over the past few years, no law on the matter has passed the

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 ...

. In September 2023, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

ordered the government to establish a legal framework recognizing same-sex unions in some form. The

Constitution of Bulgaria The Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria ( bg, Конституция на Република България, ''Konstitutsia na Republika Bǎlgariya'') is the supreme and basic law of the Republic of Bulgaria. The current constitution was ...

defines

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 ...

as "a union between a man and a woman", effectively prohibiting the legalization of same-sex marriage. Only

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a pop ...

s are recognised by law in Bulgaria.

Registered partnerships

In 2008 and 2009, there were many debates on several national TV stations on the subject of registered partnerships, with the participation of politicians, religious leaders, gay activists and others. The government had suggested that the

vote in favor of the new Family Code, which was supposed to include registered partnerships ( bg, регистрирано партньорство, ), ; rom, registrovano partnerskap providing some of the rights and benefits of

. Initially, the partnerships would not have been open to same-sex couples. However, on July 16, 2008, the Commission for Protection against Discrimination in Bulgaria suggested that the right to registered partnerships be extended to same-sex couples as well. The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

subsequently announced its opposition to recognising registered partnerships, stating that legally recognising registered partnerships for both different-sex and same-sex couples would "weaken" and "jeopardise" the institution of marriage. Some opponents further stated that the Family Code would legalise

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adopti ...

and

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

, despite the draft code explicitly prohibiting both.NATIONAL REPORT: BULGARIA
/ref> On June 12, 2009, the new Family Code was passed without provisions recognizing registered partnerships for either same-sex or opposite-sex couples. The issue of whether the Family Code should recognise registered partnerships and provide cohabiting couples with several rights available to married couples, including the right to adopt and provide consent for medical treatment, resurfaced in 2012. Opponents claimed that legalising registered partnerships would "weaken" the institution of marriage and "confuse" children, while supporters argued that it would protect couples who choose not to marry as well as their children. According to the National Statistical Institute, about 59% of Bulgarian children were born to unmarried parents in 2012. Bulgaria is also obliged under the

' ruling in '' Fedotova and Others v. Russia'' to provide legal recognition to same-sex couples.

''Koilova and Babulkova'' and aftermath

On 5 September 2023, the

(ECHR) ruled in ''Koilova and Babulkova v. Bulgaria'' that the government had unfairly discriminated against a same-sex couple, Darina Koilova and Lilia Babulkova, Bulgarian nationals who had legally married in the United Kingdom in November 2016, for refusing to recognise their marriage. The couple had filed a lawsuit in Lyulin,

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

in 2017 to have their marriage recognised in Bulgaria. The Sofia Administrative Court rejected their case in January 2018. However, a group of lawyers representing the couple appealed that decision. The

Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria The Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria was first established on 25 November 1878 as one of the three divisions of the then-single Supreme Court. It did not exist during the Communist rule, but was restored in 1991. The purpose of the Cou ...

upheld the lower court's decision in December 2019. The couple issued the following statement after the court ruling, "The law's job is to regulate realities in a society. Our family is such a reality, and I regret that the Supreme Court in our country did not have the courage to admit this fact. Not recognizing our marriage does not have the power to break the bond between us. But it has the power to make our lives much more difficult. It is a pity when your own country creates difficulties and makes you feel small and insignificant, and I am sure that in this respect, many people know how we feel. Now, however, holidays are coming and we just want to wish everyone to enjoy them with their loved ones, with warmth and affection, as we will do." The case was appealed to the ECHR in 2020, which held

oral argument Oral arguments are spoken presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or parties when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also a ...

s on 4 July 2023. The court issued its decision on 5 September, overturning the previous court rulings and concluding that the government had violated Article 8 of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...

, which protects the right to private and family life. The court ordered the government to establish a legal framework recognising same-sex unions in some form. However, the court also emphasised existing case law in ''

Schalk and Kopf v. Austria ''Schalk and Kopf v Austria'' (Application no. 30141/04) is a case decided in 2010 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in which it was clarified that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) does not oblige member states to legislat ...

'' that there is no positive obligation under the Convention to recognise same-sex marriage.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

issued a statement following the decision, urging the government to "swiftly implement the court's judgment".

Same-sex marriage

Background

The

explicitly prohibits the recognition of

. Article 46 states: "Matrimony shall be a free union between a man and a woman. Only a civil marriage shall be legal." The only way to legalise same-sex marriage in Bulgaria is to amend the Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority in the National Assenbly on three occasions.

2018 European Court of Justice ruling

On June 5, 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(EU) member states must recognise the freedom of movement and residency rights of same-sex spouses, provided one partner is an EU citizen.EU states must recognize foreign same-sex marriages: court
''Reuters'', June 5, 2018 The court ruled that EU member states may choose whether or not to allow same-sex marriage, but they cannot obstruct the freedom of residence of an EU citizen and their spouse. In addition, the court ruled that the term "spouse" is

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...

and does not necessarily imply a person of the opposite sex. Citing the ruling, a Sofia court granted a same-sex couple a right of residency in Bulgaria on 29 June 2018. The couple, an Australian woman and her French spouse who had married in France in 2016, were denied residency in Bulgaria in 2017 when they attempted to renew their residency status, which had previously been granted under an EU mobility directive. In January 2019, Bulgarian immigration officials appealed the decision. On 25 July 2019, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the lower court's ruling. The couple's lawyer, Denitsa Lyubenova, said the move could be "an important first step toward the legalization of same-sex marriage in Bulgaria".

Public opinion

The 2015 Eurobarometer found that 17% of

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...

supported same-sex marriage. This was the lowest support in the European Union, and only a 2% change from the 2006 Eurobarometer, when 15% of Bulgarians expressed support for same-sex marriage. The 2019 Eurobarometer found that 16% of Bulgarians thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 74% were against. A GLOBSEC survey conducted in March 2023 showed that 21% of Bulgarians supported same-sex marriage, while 69% were opposed.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Recognition Of Same-Sex Unions In Bulgaria LGBT rights in Bulgaria