On Friday, the 19th of January, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs promulgated amendments developed by the Ministry of Justice to the Notariate Law. These amendments will adopt a new institute of law – partnership. Among other things, this will be a way for same-sex couples to legalise their relationships, as reported by information published in the Latvian Herald.
As reported by the Ministry of Justice, amendments to the aforementioned law are part of the legislative package that provides the option for two adults – of different and the same gender in a personal relationship and a shared household to register their relationship at a sworn notary’s practice.
When registering a partnership, the legal, economic and social protection of the close personal relations of two people will be ensured at the national level, as details of the partnership will be entered in the Register of Natural Persons.
After the establishment of the partnership, the partner will have the right to make decisions related to the treatment of the other partner
if he is unable to take care of himself or freely express his will, to obtain social guarantees, for example, to receive the pension amounts calculated for the partner that have not been paid until his death, as well as to obtain personal income tax relief for mutual gifts and loans.
The new institute of law also provides changes in relation to the information to be included in a state official’s declaration, specifically that it will be required to mention the identity of a person with whom officials have a partnership.
As previously reported, on the 9th of November 2023 the majority of Saeima deputies passed in the final reading the legislative draft proposed by Minister of the Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere. This legislative draft provides for the adoption of a new institute of law – partnership, which is a way for same-sex couples to legalise their relationships.
Shortly after that, political parties – Combined List, Latvia in First Place and National Alliance – announced having collected signatures from 34 Saeima deputies to attempt to initiate a referendum to repeal amendments to the Notariate Law.
In order to initiate a referendum to repeal law amendments, it was necessary to collect signatures of one-tenth or 154 241 voters. However, only 35 089 or only 23% of the necessary number was collected in the end, as LETA was informed by the Central Election Commission.
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