Courts step in to protect queer families in Lithuania

A recent decision by the Vilnius City District Court has ruled in favour of two women seeking to have their relationship recognised by the government as a form of partnership.

The women are cohabiting and the court directed the government to create a way for them to legally register their relationship.

The effect of the decision is to expand the legal definition of family to include same-sex relationships.

The court's decision is at odds with both the country's constitution and civil code - both of which include limitations on the definition of marriage and civil partnerships, explicitly excluding same-sex relationships.

However, Lithuania's Constitutional Court ruled in April that the civil code limitation on relationship recognition is unconstitutional.

So far, no attempt has been made to amend the legislation that has been declared unconstitutional but this has created an opportunity for lower courts to follow the legal precedent set by the Constitutional Court - as we see in this decision by the Vilnius City District Court.

We are likely to see an increasing number of same-sex couples applying to the courts to have their relationships legally recognised.

What's life like for LGBTQ people in Lithuania?

What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Lithuania? Let’s take a look at some of the key equality indicators.

Is homosexuality legal in Lithuania?

Yes. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in 1993.

Are there anti-discrimination protections in place for LGBTQ people in Lithuania?

Yes. Anti-discrimination protections were enacted in 2010.

Is there Marriage Equality in Lithuania?

It's a complicated situation.

Lithuania's constitution explicitly limits marriage to opposite sex couples. Additionally, the country's civil code does not allow for same-sex couples to register their partnerships.

However, Lithuania's constitutional court has ruled that the ban on registering same-sex relationships is unconstitutional and we now have examples of lower courts approving the applications of same-sex couples seeking to register their partnerships for legal protection.

It's not clear how this will play out but it's likely that there will be increasing pressure for some sort of legislative resolution to clarify the legal position.

What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Lithuania?

Lithuania is a socially conservative country.

Homophobia is systemic.

There is a small LGBTQ community in Vilnius.

In the recent ILGA report on LGBTQ Equality, Lithuania was ranked 36th out of all the countries in Europe. The analysis scored Lithuania highly on the criteria of Civil Society Space, but weakly on all other measures.