On Tuesday, the 6th of December, Latvian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee decided to discontinue the Civil Union legislative draft originally composed by the 13th Saeima. This legislative draft provided for the adoption of a new procedure for the registration of a union between two adults. This would have applied to same-sex couples in Latvia.
Dagnija Palčevska, director of the Department of Civil Law in the Ministry of Justice, explained that this legislative draft was intended to comply with a ruling of the Constitutional Court. The Senate of the Administrative Court, too, has ruled: as long as the legislative draft remains «in the air», families are able to register their status using the Administrative Court. But this procedure requires a lot of state resources and is not the most effective solution to the situation, said Palčevska. The ministry’s representative also mentioned that this legislative draft does not put the marriage institute in any danger.
When asked if the initiative complies with the Constitution, Palčevska mentioned that the Constitution makes it clear: the state shall protect and support marriage – a union between a man and a woman, the family, the rights of parents and rights of the child. Laws do not allow non-compliance with verdicts of the Constitutional Court, she said, adding that such a situation is not possible in a country ruled by law.
The representative of Saeima’s Legal Affairs Office mentioned the legislator is authorised to make decisions on different ways to comply with verdicts of the Constitutional Court. The representative also said no law permits anyone not to comply with verdicts of the court.
There isn’t a single known case when the parliament in Latvia completely ignored any verdict from the Constitutional Court.
Family Association representative Elīna Kārkla invited members of the Saeima to not support the initiative to continue working with this legislative draft, explaining that the Constitutional Court has apparently breached the principle of separation of power. According to her, experts, including psychologists, that were interviewed during the Constitutional Court’s review of this case were unilateral and provided false information.
As previously reported, with the 13th Saeima proving unable to pass the Civil Union Law, the movement Spouses submitted to the 14th Saeima on the 27th of October an initiative from Manabalss.lv platform On legal protection of all families. More than 23 000 Latvian residents gave their signatures in favour of this initiative.
The legislative initiative provided the option to sign marriage contracts through the procedure of notarisation. This contract would govern the personal and property relations of the spouses, as well as determine the cases in which there is a de facto union of spouses, protecting their right to have a family life. It is also proposed to provide spouses the option to register their relationship using a simplified procedure, either using services of a sworn notary or using digiNotars remote service.
Also read: Latvians collect 10 000 signatures to back initiative to freeze deputies’ and ministers’ wages