Recognition of same-sex unions in Romania
Registered partnerships (Romanian: parteneriat înregistrat, pronounced [parteˈnerjat ɨnreˈdʒistrat])[a] are not available in Romania, despite several previous unsuccessful attempts to change the law.In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling obliging Romania to legally recognize same-sex unions, otherwise risking financial sanctions from the Council of Europe.[14] Romaniţa Iordache, the executive director of ACCEPT, said on 31 May 2006 that "Article 200 [the last anti-gay law] has been abrogated, but we [the LGBT community] still do not have equal rights, even though the Constitution guarantees this."[15] A spokesman for ACCEPT, Florin Buhuceanu, claimed that "guaranteeing the equality of rights through the recognition of gay marriage... is just a step forward."[16] On 23 February 2008, Péter Eckstein-Kovács, a parliamentarian from the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, proposed a bill to legalise registered partnerships, providing unmarried same-sex and opposite-sex couples a number of legal rights and benefits.He said that the current Family Code was "adopted more than fifty years ago and no longer reflected social realities, both in the case of homosexuals and heterosexuals".[20] Among the most vehement reactions was from Senator Puiu Hașotti, who described homosexuals as "sick people" and "not natural", prompting a formal complaint by the organization ACCEPT to the National Council for Combating Discrimination.[32][33] On 9 October 2018, just days after the failed referendum to ban same-sex marriage in the Romanian Constitution, the Minister for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu, said that a bill allowing registered partnerships had been finalized and would be introduced in mid-October.[34] However, in mid-October 2018, some media reported that the introduction of the bill had been postponed, and that the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Dragnea himself were no longer supportive.One bill would have recognised same-sex and opposite-sex couples "for the purpose of setting up a shared private life and household", while the other bill would have granted shared rights for couples entering a partnership and covered aspects such as succession rights, protection from domestic violence, the obligation to support an incapacitated partner, and fiscal facilities or social benefits granted by the state.The couples had sued in 2019 and 2020 for being "deprived of their dignity as spouses", and cited disadvantages, such as being barred from spousal bereavement leave, mortgage programmes or joint health insurance.[50] In November 2023, when asked whether the government intended to enforce the ruling, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu issued a statement that "Romanian society is not ready for a decision at the moment.The parliamentary subcommittee responsible for drafting the Civil Code amended the definition of marriage, explicitly stating that it must be "between a man and a woman".On 6 June 2006, the Cotidianul newspaper conducted interviews with representatives of the five main political parties, asking them about their stance on same-sex marriage.The leader of the Democratic Party, also part of the governing coalition, was similarly elusive, stating that: "Now is not the right moment to talk about this issue [same-sex marriage]."[61] Article 48 of the Constitution of Romania states: The family is founded on the freely consented marriage of the spouses, their full equality, as well as the right and duty of the parents to ensur the upbringing, education and instruction of their children.[66] Green MP Remus Cernea described the move to ban same-sex marriage as "clearly a democratic setback; Romania should now be included among the most homophobic countries in the world."[66] Many NGOs opposed the move to ban same-sex marriage and released a common statement arguing that the provision prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation should remain in the Constitution."[68] Csaba Ferenc Asztalos, the president of the National Council for Combating Discrimination, thought that the new amendments "are brought to the table just to manipulate, just to incite, just to serve other goals then a real problem (...) [and] that at this point we are channeling the societal hatred through acts like the Constitution only, for example, to have [political] quorum (...) and this is not normal".[85] In 2018, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in favour of a Romanian man, Adrian Coman, who sought to have his marriage to his American husband Clai Hamilton recognised in Romania.[87] In January 2018, Advocate General Melchior Wathelet advised the court to rule in favour of the couple: Although member states are free to authorize marriage between persons of the same sex or not, they may not impede the freedom of residence of an E.U."[89] White & Case, the law firm that represented the couple, and the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) welcomed the court ruling, but it drew criticism from religious and conservative groups.[96] Romania's first religious same-sex marriage ceremony was performed on 5 June 2006 following Bucharest Pride, when Florin Buhuceanu, a spokesman for ACCEPT, married his Spanish partner of four years.The symbolic marriage, which has no legal status in Romania, was blessed by the Metropolitan Community Church in Bucharest, an international denomination which recognises same-sex unions and supports LGBT rights.[100] An IRES (Institutul Roman pentru Evaluare si Strategie) poll conducted in December 2018 found that 27% of Romanians supported same-sex marriage, while 72% were opposed and 1% were undecided or did not answer.[102] An ACCEPT 2021 study, carried out by telephone questionnaires on 1,064 people aged 18 years old and over, showed that 43% of respondents supported reforms to allow either civil unions or same-sex marriage.
Marriage
Civil union
Limited domestic recognition (cohabitation)
Limited foreign recognition (residency rights)
Unrecognized
Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples
¹ May include recent laws or court decisions that have not yet entered into effect.
Legal status ofsame-sex unionsMarriageAndorraArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBelgiumBrazilCanadaColombiaCosta RicaDenmarkEcuadorEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceIcelandIrelandLiechtensteinLuxembourgMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPortugalSloveniaSouth AfricaSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanThailandUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayIsraelAmerican SamoaCivil unionsBoliviaCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicHungaryLatviaMonacoMontenegroSan MarinoBermudaCayman IslandsMinimal recognitionBulgariaCambodiaHong KongLithuaniaNamibiaSint MaartenPolandSlovakiaSame-sex union legislationSame-sex union court casesTimeline of same-sex marriageRecognition of same-sex unions in AfricaRecognition of same-sex unions in AsiaRecognition of same-sex unions in EuropeRecognition of same-sex unions in the AmericasRecognition of same-sex unions in OceaniaMarriage privatizationDivorce of same-sex couplesDomestic partnershipMilitary policyAdoptionLGBTQ rights by country or territoryCaribbean NetherlandsAruba and CuraçaoNiue, Tokelau, or the Cook IslandsBritish Overseas Territoriessome tribal nationsComan v. RomaniaEuropean Court of JusticeEU citizensguru–shishyanata prathamaitri kararpartnership certificatesRomaniasame-sex marriageParliament of RomaniaEuropean Court of Human RightsEuropean Convention on Human RightsGrand ChamberobligedCouncil of EuropeEuropean UnionConstitution of RomaniafamilyChamber of DeputieshospitalKlaus Iohannispublic notaryRegistered partnershipsRomanianACCEPTBucharest PrideGovernment of RomaniaPéter Eckstein-KovácsDemocratic Union of Hungarians in RomaniaSenate2008 electionDemocratic Liberal PartyRemus CerneaGreen PartyPuiu HașottiNational Council for Combating DiscriminationLiviu DragneaPresident of the Chamber of Deputiesfailed referendumVictor NegrescuSocial Democratic Partyindependentsuccession rightsdomestic violencehealth insuranceArticle 8Alliance for the Union of RomaniansCsaba Ferenc Asztalos