Ukraine’s Defense and Justice ministries have thrown their support behind the bill on registered partnerships, submitted to the Verkhovna Rada in March 2023. This was reported on Facebook by MP and initiator of the bill Inna Sovsun
‘The Ministry of Defense has changed its position and endorsed the bill on registered partnerships. But there’s more to it. The Ministry of Justice, which was supposed to develop an alternative partnership bill, has also altered its stance. It is now prepared to support my bill…’, Sovsun revealed.
According to her, previously, ‘negative conclusions of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice blocked the further progress of the draft law in parliament’. Now the draft law should be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada for a vote: if it is supported in the first reading, the Ministry of Justice will be able to propose its amendments in the second reading.
Quoting representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Sovsun says that if the draft law on registered partnerships is adopted, Ukraine will fulfill its obligations under Article 8 of the Convention on Human Rights, ‘and there will be no grounds for filing lawsuits against Ukraine in the European Court of Human Rights for discrimination’.
‘The Ministry of Justice views the bill as the first progressive step toward a constructive dialog with society, with the goal of creating a legal mechanism for protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms’, Sovsun summarizes.
Inna Sovsun has submitted a bill on the introduction of registered civil partnerships in Ukraine to the Verkhovna Rada in March 2023. If the bill is passed, same-sex couples will also be able to enter into partnerships in Ukraine.
A registered, or civil partnership, is a legally approved agreement between a couple, similar to a marriage, that defines mutual rights and obligations, issues regarding property ownership, inheritance, social security, and rights in the event of the death or disappearance of a partner. Sovsun calls it ‘a new institution for those who cannot or do not want to enter into marriage’.
