The judges rejected the cassation appeal of the public movement “All Together,” which is fighting to “prevent the legalization of same-sex marriages and partnerships in Ukraine,” the statement said. The Supreme Court considered that the decision cannot be appealed by a party that did not participate in the case and whose rights and obligations it does not affect.
The final verdict upheld de facto marital relations (cohabitation by one family) between men without official legitimation.
“This is a colossal precedent. No homophobic or conservative organization will be able to use the courts as a tool to persecute or overturn decisions in favor of LGBTI+ people, under the guise of “public morals.” The state has protected the boundaries of private life,” Insight responded to this.
Context
In Ukraine, the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage has been repeatedly raised. This topic became especially acute after the start of a full-scale invasion by the aggressor country of the Russian Federation, since among the Ukrainian military there are LGBT representatives who cannot exercise the rights of married couples in the event of the death or injury of one of the partners.
In July 2022, a petition calling for the legalization of same-sex marriage received 25 thousand votes. However, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, responding to her, said that, according to the Constitution, marriage is based on the voluntary consent of a man and a woman. In wartime conditions, the Constitution of Ukraine cannot be changed. At the same time, Zelensky did not rule out the option of introducing a civil partnership mechanism in Ukraine. This is an alternative to marriage, introduced in 28 countries around the world, for example, in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and others. In addition, it can be applied to both same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples who, for their own reasons, do not want to formalize the marriage.
March 13, 2023 bill No. 9103 was registered “On the Institute of Registered Partnerships”. According to the bill, a civil partnership will be considered a voluntary family union of two adults, of the same or different sexes, registered in a certain manner. The authors of the bill emphasized that a registered partnership is not a marriage. However, after registration, partners receive the status of close relatives, namely a family member of the first degree of kinship, regardless of whether they actually live together and run a household together. For more than two years, the document has been lying in the Rada without movement.
On May 26, Zelensky addressed the Cabinet of Ministers with a proposal to work out the issue on the introduction of the institution of registered civil partnership in Ukraine.
In July, the OCU approved a declaration on negative attitude towards “homosexuality”. The OCU is also against the creation of the institution of “registered partnership”; it calls it a threat to public morality.
In November 2024, project manager of the ZMINA Human Rights Center Irina Yuzik explained on Hromadske Radio that the bill “On the Institute of Registered Partnerships” was blocked in parliament: the specialized committee on legal policy simply stopped the movement of this bill. She stated that its author, Golos faction deputy Inna Sovsun, plans to register a new one so that it passes through another committee.
