The amendment to the Family Code went into full force in Slovenia on the 31st of January 2023, thereby decreeing that marriage is no longer just a union between a man and a woman, but a union between two persons, and same-sex couples are now able to adopt children, Radio-Television Slovenia reported.
According to the elaboration of the Slovenian Ministry of Labor, spouses or life partners can adopt jointly a child or one of them can adopt the child of his/her spouse or partner.
Representatives of the ruling party Levica (The Left Wing) and the Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities, proclaimed the 31st of January a very special day, welcoming the change that was initiated by civil society organizations (CSO) 30 years ago.
“From today, all same-sex marriages enjoy the same rights as everyone else. There are no losers, rather a minority that was oppressed throughout history is now a winner. I think that we made a big step forward as a country”, said Slovenian Labor Minister and coordinator of Levica, Luka Mesec, the Slovenian service “N1” reports.
This important breakthrough in Slovenia was greeted by the non-governmental organization “Legebitra”.
“These changes will bring about many benefits for both the LGBT community and Slovenian society. The amendment will provide same-sex couples with legal protection and enable them to exercise the same rights and obligations that were a privilege only for heterosexual couples, one of which was the adoption of children”, stated Sebastian Sitar from Legebitra.
Tatjana Greif, MP from Levica, said that the amendment eliminated the decade-long discrimination, and, according to her, there is no full equality in the society, but however, such an action is a big milestone for the country.
“25th May 1997, on behalf of the association “Skuc”, I submitted an initiative to the Government for modifying the marriage and legalizing the status of same-sex couples. At the time I did not imagine that such a thing would require 26 years, until 2023”, Greif says.
The Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tanja Fajon, tweeted that Slovenia became the first country in Eastern Europe and ointhe Balkans to enable equal rights to same-sex marriages as those enjoyed by heterosexuals. For her, the 31st of January 2023 is a momentous day for equality, diversity, and inclusion.
“Only by recognizing all individuals, regardless of their personal circumstances, can we progress as a democratic society. I am pleased that Slovenia has taken the first step in this direction by equalizing the rights of all individuals entering marriage”, Fajon tweeted.
Danes je pomemben dan. #Slovenija 🇸🇮 se je s popolno izenačitvijo pravic istospolnih partnerjev s pravicami žensk & moških pri sklenitvi zakonske zveze pridružila najnaprednejšim in najbolj odprtim demokracijam na svetu. pic.twitter.com/sJbQKWw7U3
— MFEA Slovenia (@MZEZ_RS) January 31, 2023
The amended Family Code also determines the manner of transforming the current partnerships into marriages. According to the Law, the partnership shall be transformed into a marriage within six months after this law goes into effect if the partners go before a marriage registrar requesting such a change.
Last June, the Constitutional Court of Slovenia adopted a decision according to which the legal regulation within the Family Code defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman was not in line with the Constitution. It was also decided that regulating the possibility to jointly adopt a child was also not compliant with the Constitution. Therefore, the Constitutional Court instructed the Parliament to delete the specified unconstitutional regulation within six months. The Parliament adopted the changes last October.
