Same-sex marriage

The leader of Greece's opposition has promised to legalize same-sex marriage with full parental rights if he wins a general election next month, in a move that would make it the first predominantly Orthodox Christian country to do so.

Alexis Tsipras, who heads the main left-wing opposition party, Syriza, said his government would grant same-sex couples the legal right to marry.

A conservative group that has been campaigning against gay marriage and adoptions for years has turned to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after being prevented to hold a referendum on the issue.

The group, called Children Are at Stake Coalition, sought a referendum on a law codifying same-sex marriage and adoptions that was passed by the National Assembly in October 2022.

Marriage equality having been enshrined in law based on a landmark Constitutional Court decision, efforts have now been announced to give single women access to in vitro fertilisation, a fight that has been going on for more than two decades in Slovenia.

The Constitutional Court has turned down an appeal by a conservative group against the National Assembly's decision not to allow a referendum on a law codifying same-sex marriages and adoptions.

In a ruling announced on 11 January, the country's top court noted that it had found the previous solution in the family code unconstitutional on two earlier occasions.

Ljubljana – The National Assembly signed same-sex marriage and adoptions into law by passing changes to the family code by 48 votes in favour and 29 against on Tuesday, capping decades of efforts by LGBT+ groups and activists to end discrimination and be recognised as equal members of society.

Czechia's centre-right government has agreed a "neutral stance' on a controversial bill to enshrine marriage as between a man and a woman in the constitution, Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced on Wednesday. The legislation was proposed in response to the 'threat' posed by the recent submission of a parliamentary bill to legalise gay marriage.

Ljubljana – The Council of Christian Churches and the Islamic Community in Slovenia have addressed a joint statement to the government and both houses of parliament to raise “concern over the changing of fundamental concepts of our society” after the Constitutional Court legalised same-sex marriages and adoptions.

Ljubljana – The government adopted on Friday legislative changes to remedy the regulation prohibiting homosexual couples from getting married or adopting children. The changes to the family code will be fast tracked through parliament, the Government Communication Office said.

Ljubljana – The Bishops’ Conference has said it accepts the Constitutional Court’s legalisation of gay marriage and adoptions with regret. The objective is to reject human nature and build a new social order in which every person will be able to shape themselves as they wish and without regard for their natural characteristics.

Ljubljana – The Constitutional Court legalised same-sex marriage and adoptions with immediate effect after finding a law under which only heterosexual partners can marry and same-sex couples cannot adopt children to be in contravention of the constitutional ban on discrimination.