Lithuania / Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania / KT21-N5

Request of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (applicant) and the Seimas (Parliament)
Deciding body type
National Court/Tribunal
Deciding body
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania
Type
Decision
Decision date
17/04/2025
  • Lithuania / Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania / KT21-N5

    Key facts of the case:

    The case concerns a request of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to the Constitutional Court to assess whether certain provisions of national civil law were compatible with the Constitution of Lithuania.

    When Lithuania adopted its Civil Code (2000), it introduced partnership (“bendras gyvenimas neįregistravus santuokos”) in Book III, Chapter XV, providing for legal regulation of the property relations of couples living together who are not married.

    However, Article 28 of the Law on the Entry into Force and Implementation of the Civil Code postponed the implementation of these provisions until the adoption of a separate law on the procedure for registering partnerships.

    That procedural law was never adopted, despite a legislative proposal obliging the Government to prepare it by 1 January 2002. As a result, for more than 20 years, Lithuanian citizens living in family relationships in practice– including same-sex couples – have been unable to obtain any legal recognition or protection of their family life.

    Key legal question raised by the court:

    The Government, invoking its constitutional duty to ensure the protection of family life for all persons, requested the Constitutional Court to determine whether:

    1. the deferral clause in Article 28 of the implementing law, which made the partnership provisions ineffective, and
    2. Article 3.229 of the Civil Code, which limited partnership registration to a man and a woman, was compatible with the Constitution and with Lithuania’s international and European human-rights obligations.

    The case addressed the long-standing “legal vacuum” in which, despite legislative recognition of partnership as a form of family life, the absence of implementing rules left many couples without legal protection.

    Outcome of the case:

    The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania held that Article 28 of the Law on the Entry into Force and Implementation of the Civil Code — which postponed the entry into force of the partnership provisions until a separate registration law was adopted — had been incompatible with the Constitution.

    The Court found that leaving the partnership provisions unenforceable for over 20 years violated the constitutional principles of a democratic state, protection of human dignity, and the right to private and family life, as well as equality before the law.

    The Court highlighted that the legislature has a positive constitutional duty to ensure that all families, including those formed by unmarried and same-sex couples, receive effective legal recognition and protection.

    The Constitutional Court further found Article 3.229 of the Civil Code, which limited registered partnerships to a man and a woman, to be incompatible with the Constitution. The Court held that the constitutional concept of “family” is gender-neutral, based on stable emotional, personal, and social ties rather than on sex or marital status. Therefore, restricting partnership only to different-sex couples violated the principles of equality and human dignity, as protected under both the Constitution and Article 21 of the EU Charter (non-discrimination).

    The Court drew on EU Charter provisions and ECHR jurisprudence to affirm that Lithuania must provide a legal framework ensuring recognition and protection of same-sex and ‘in fact’ families.

    The Court noted that until the legislator establishes a procedure for registering partnerships or otherwise regulates the legal recognition and protection of unmarried couples in permanent or long-term family relationships, individuals can exercise their right to partnership (including registration) by applying to the court in accordance with the procedures established by law.

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

     14. In the context of this constitutional justice case, the provisions of the Treaty on European Union (hereinafter – also EU Treaty) establishing the fundamental values on which the European Union is founded are relevant, as well as the rights, freedoms, and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, proclaimed on 7 December 2000 in Nice and adapted in Strasbourg on 12 December 2007 (hereinafter – also the Charter).

    14.1. Article 2 of the EU Treaty provides, among others, that the Union is founded on the following values: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity, and equality between women and men prevail.

    14.2. According to Article 6(1) of the EU Treaty, the European Union recognises the rights, freedoms, and principles set out in the Charter; the Charter has the same legal value as the EU Treaty and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter – TFEU)

    Moreover, under Article 6(3) EU Treaty, the fundamental rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and those resulting from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States form part of the general principles of EU law.

    15. Article 1 of the Charter, “Human dignity,” provides that human dignity is inviolable; it must be respected and protected.

    Article 7 of the Charter, “Respect for private and family life,” provides that everyone has the right to respect for their private and family life, home, and communications.

    Article 9 of the Charter, “Right to marry and to found a family,” stipulates that the right to marry and to found a family shall be guaranteed in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights.

    Under Article 21(1) of the Charter, “Non-discrimination,” any discrimination based in particular on sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.

    It should be noted that Article 51(1) of the Charter provides that the provisions of the Charter are addressed to the institutions, bodies, offices, and agencies of the Union, with due regard for the principle of subsidiarity, and to the Member States when they are implementing Union law. Therefore, they must respect the rights, observe the principles, and promote their application in accordance with their respective powers and in compliance with the limits of the Union’s competences as conferred by the EU Treaty and the TFEU.

    ...

    17. …

    One of the rights of EU citizens is the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States (Article 21(1) of the TFEU). In ensuring the free movement of persons, respect for the private and family life of EU citizens must be safeguarded and any discrimination, inter alia on grounds of sex or sexual orientation, must be avoided (Articles 7 and 21(1) of the Charter).

    The case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) shows that, in the context of the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States (Article 21(1) TFEU), the concept of “family” includes same-sex spouses and parents, even if a Member State’s national law does not provide for same-sex marriage or parenthood.

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter (original language)

    14. Šios konstitucinės justicijos bylos kontekste yra aktualios Europos Sąjungos sutarties (toliau – ir ES sutartis) nuostatos, įtvirtinančios pamatines vertybes, kuriomis grindžiama Europos Sąjunga, taip pat 2000 m. gruodžio 7 d. Europos Sąjungos pagrindinių teisių chartijoje (toliau – ir Chartija), patikslintoje 2007 m. gruodžio 12 d. Strasbūre, išdėstytos teisės, laisvės ir principai.

    14.1. ES sutarties 2 straipsnyje inter alia nustatyta, kad ES yra grindžiama šiomis vertybėmis: pagarba žmogaus orumui, laisve, demokratija, lygybe, teisine valstybe ir pagarba žmogaus teisėms, įskaitant mažumoms priklausančių asmenų teises; šios vertybės yra bendros valstybėms narėms, gyvenančioms visuomenėje, kurioje vyrauja pliuralizmas, nediskriminavimas, tolerancija, teisingumas, solidarumas ir moterų bei vyrų lygybė.

    14.2. Pagal ES sutarties 6 straipsnio 1 dalyje, Europos Sąjunga pripažįsta Chartijoje išdėstytas teises, laisves ir principus; Chartija turi tokią pat teisinę galią, kaip ES sutartis ir Sutartis dėl Europos Sąjungos veikimo (toliau – SESV).

    Be to, pagal ES sutarties 6 straipsnio 3 dalį, pagrindinės teisės, kurias garantuoja Konvencija ir kurios kyla iš valstybėms narėms bendrų konstitucinių tradicijų, sudaro ES teisės bendruosius principus.

    15. Chartijos 1 straipsnyje „Žmogaus orumas“ nustatyta, kad žmogaus orumas yra neliečiamas; jį reikia gerbti ir saugoti.

    Chartijos 7 straipsnyje „Teisė į privatų ir šeimos gyvenimą“ nustatyta: „Kiekvienas asmuo turi teisę į tai, kad būtų gerbiamas jo privatus ir šeimos gyvenimas, būsto neliečiamybė ir komunikacijos slaptumas.“

    Chartijos 9 straipsnyje „Teisė tuoktis ir kurti šeimą“ įtvirtinta: „Teisė tuoktis ir kurti šeimą garantuojama pagal šios teisės įgyvendinimą reguliuojančius nacionalinius įstatymus.“

    Pagal Chartijos 21 straipsnio „Diskriminacijos uždraudimas“ 1 dalį draudžiama bet kokia diskriminacija, ypač dėl asmens lyties, rasės, odos spalvos, tautinės ar socialinės kilmės, genetinių bruožų, kalbos, religijos ar tikėjimo, politinių ar kitokių pažiūrų, priklausymo tautinei mažumai, turtinės padėties, gimimo, negalios, amžiaus, seksualinės orientacijos.

    Pažymėtina, kad Chartijos 51 straipsnio 1 dalyje nustatyta, jog Chartijos nuostatos skirtos ES institucijoms, įstaigoms ir organams, tinkamai atsižvelgiant į subsidiarumo principą, ir valstybėms narėms tais atvejais, kai šios įgyvendina ES teisę, todėl jos turi gerbti Chartijoje įtvirtintas teises, laikytis joje įtvirtintų principų ir juos taikyti pagal turimus atitinkamus įgaliojimus, nepažeisdamos ES įgaliojimų, suteiktų jai pagal ES sutartį ir SESV.

    ...

    17. (…)

    – viena iš ES piliečių teisių yra teisė laisvai judėti ir apsigyventi valstybių narių teritorijoje (inter alia SESV 21 straipsnio 1 dalis); užtikrinant laisvą asmenų judėjimą turi būti gerbiamas ES piliečių privatus ir šeimos gyvenimas, paisoma bet kokios diskriminacijos, inter alia dėl lyties, seksualinės orientacijos, draudimo (Chartijos 7 straipsnis, 21 straipsnio 1 dalis);

    – iš ESTT praktikos matyti, jog teisės laisvai judėti ir apsigyventi valstybių narių teritorijoje (inter alia SESV 21 straipsnio 1 dalis) kontekste šeimos samprata apima tos pačios lyties sutuoktinius ir tėvus, net jei valstybė narė nacionalinėje teisėje nėra numačiusi tos pačios lyties asmenų santuokos ir (ar) tėvystės.