01 Jul The Council of Europe’s expert opinion on the Serbian draft law on same-sex unions
An expert opinion on the draft law on same-sex unions was prepared by the Council of Europe’s Directorate General for Democracy upon the request of the Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue of Serbia.
The opinion takes into consideration the Council of Europe legal standards in the field of combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as on the protection of social rights. By adopting a specific legal framework for same-sex couples, Serbia would go a long way towards satisfying these standards, the opinion says. At the same time, the opinion makes a series of recommendations for improvement of the draft Law. Specially, to regulate the right to alimony for an economically disadvantaged partner after the dissolution of a same-sex union, to regulate adoption with regard to same-sex relationships and the right of leave for a partner to care for a sick partner. In addition, the Opinion highlights the fact that the Draft Law appears to contain a few provisions which are discriminatory for same-sex couples in comparison to different-sex couples in the same situation.
The opinion on the draft Law on same-sex unions, was prepared with the support of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Unit of the Council of Europe and of the joint European Union/Council of Europe action Promotion of diversity and equality in Serbia under the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022 (II).
The Opinion is available here:
References from the official website of the European Court of Human Rights