| Part of theLGBTQ rights series |
Recognized |
Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage |
See also
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Notes
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 LGBTQ portal |
Croatia has recognizedlife partnerships for same-sex couples since 5 August 2014. TheCroatian Parliament passed theLife Partnership Act on 15 July 2014 by 86 votes to 16, granting same-sex couples equal rights and benefits to married couples in almost all aspects. The legislation was signed by PresidentIvo Josipović, and took effect on 5 August, though some sections of the law went into force on 1 September 2014. Croatia first recognized same-sexunregistered cohabitation in 2003, providing some inheritance and financial benefits to same-sex partners.
Following a2013 referendum, theConstitution of Croatia has limited marriage to opposite-sex couples.
In 2003, thegoverning coalition of Prime MinisterIvica Račan, consisting mostly of centre-left parties, passed a law recognizing same-sexunregistered cohabitation (neregistrirana kohabitacija). Initially, the draft bill would have recognizedregistered partnerships providing most of the rights ofmarriage, but theCroatian Peasant Party threatened to leave the coalition if it insisted on this version of the law. The bill was amended to grant same-sex partners only limited rights, including in the areas ofinheritance andalimony, and subsequently passed in theCroatian Parliament. The law requires that couplescohabit for at least three years, and does not provide any rights in terms ofadoption, taxes, joint property ownership,health insurance or pensions.[1][2][3]
In early 2006, the Croatian Parliament rejected a registered partnership bill introduced by MP Šime Lučin of theSocial Democratic Party andIndependent MPIvo Banac, by 22 votes to 76 with 5 abstentions.[4][5] MP Lucija Čikeš, a member of the rulingCroatian Democratic Union (HDZ), called for the proposal to be rejected because "all universe isheterosexual, from an atom and the smallest particle, from a fly to an elephant". Another HDZ MP objected on the basis that "85% of the population considers itselfCatholic and the Church is against heterosexual and homosexual equality". Medical and psychological professionals opposed these statements, arguing that all members of Parliament had a duty to vote according to theConstitution of Croatia, which prohibitsdiscrimination.[6]
On 11 May 2012,Prime MinisterZoran Milanović announced that thegovernment would soon pass legislation expanding the rights of same-sex partners. At this point, it was unknown what form this recognition would take, though it was likely that Croatian family law would not be modified and that the legislation ofsame-sex marriage was not being considered.[7][8] Deputy Prime MinisterMilanka Opačić also expressed support forsame-sex parenting, as did ministersVesna Pusić andPredrag Matić.[9][10][11][12][13][14] On theInternational Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in 2012, LGBT groups met withMinister of Public AdministrationArsen Bauk, who announced that the government was considering a law regulating same-sex life partnerships (Croatian:životno partnerstvo,pronounced[ʒǐvotnopârtnerstvo]).[a] Bauk expressed strong support for LGBT rights, calling on lawmakers to show a greater commitment to equality. He specifically referred to several politicians who had expressed support for LGBT equality, but were willing to make concessions because "society might not be ready for certain changes". Marko Jurčić fromZagreb Pride called for life partnerships to be open to all couples, not just same-sex couples.[15][16] Zagreb Pride later helped a government working group co-draft the bill, and led a public campaign called "It's time for life partnerships".[17][18][19]
The Ministry of Public Administration and the government working group responsible for drafting the partnership law met for the first time on 6 September 2012, with the bill expected to be introduced to theCroatian Parliament sometime in 2013.[20] On 16 November 2012, Jagoda Botički, who led the working group, confirmed that the draft law would allow same-sex couples to register their relationships at registry offices, but that it would not apply to different-sex couples. Botički said that the group was in the process of meeting several government ministries to evaluate which legal rights and benefits would be granted to life partners. Two LGBT associations, Iskorak and Kontra, said they were "satisfied" that life partners would be able to register their relationships at registry offices, but expressed "disappointment" that same-sex couples would remain excluded from family law. This exclusion would potentially mean fewer rights for life partners due to political concessions, particularly affecting families with children, as this was the most controversial area for opponents of the law.[21] On 2 August 2013, Bauk stated that the law would be called theLife Partnership Act (Croatian:Zakon o životnom partnerstvu), that registration of life partnerships would be identical to marriage, and that the law would treat same-sex couples equally to married couples in all areas except adoption, although he said thatstepchild adoption was being considered. TheCroatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS) expressed support for full adoption rights.Public consultations on the law were announced for the following month, and introduction to the Parliament by the end of 2013.[22]
The draft law was published on 4 November 2013. Although it did not include joint adoption, it would allow life partners to receive partial, and in some cases full, parental responsibility over their partner's child. The bill would also enable life partners to become "partner-guardians".[23][24] It would define same-sex partners as afamily—while not explicitly modifying Croatian family law—and ban discrimination on the basis of partnership status. It would also stipulate that future changes to family law regarding marriage must also include life partnerships.[25][26] According to articles 73, 74 and 75 of theLife Partnership Act, same-sex marriages anddomestic partnerships performed abroad would be recognized as life partnerships in Croatia. This included unregistered cohabitation where couples had been living together for at least 3 years, which would be recognized as informal life partnerships. Further, the law would not require life partners to be Croatian nationals or permanent residents.[27] According to law experts, this would make theLife Partnership Act one of the most liberal same-sex partnership laws inEurope.[28][29] Bauk stated:[30]
[TheLife Partnership Act] represents a democratic compromise, and creates conditions which will make all apparatuses needed to build a family life based on feelings of intimate emotional attachment and mutual trust available to same-sex communities, while at the same time expressing respect towards the current attachment of our fellow citizens to the traditional notion of marriage.
The Croatian Government expressed its support for the proposed bill on 12 December 2013.[31] On 29 January 2014, the Parliamentary Committee on Human and National Minority Rights approved the legislation, with 6 members in favor and 2 against. It also passed the Gender Equality Committee. The Croatian Democratic Union expressed opposition to the measure.[32][33][34] It was introduced to the Parliament on 27 February, and amended following public debate. The government approved a final version of the bill on 24 June. It passed its second reading on 10 July.[35][36][37] Parliament approved the law in its final reading on 15 July by 89 votes to 16.[38][39] It was signed by PresidentIvo Josipović, and published in theNarodne novine on 28 July. The law took effect on 5 August 2014, except for sections on parental responsibility, which came into force on 1 September 2014.[40]
The first life partnership was registered between two men inZagreb on 5 September 2014. Minister Bauk was present at the ceremony, and presented the couple with twoneckties as a gift from the Croatian state.[41] The second partnership took place inSplit on 18 September.[42]
TheLife Partnership Act established an institution similar to stepchild adoption called "partner-guardianship" (partnerska skrb). A life partner who is not the biological parent of their partner's child can take on parental responsibilities on either a temporary or permanent basis. During a life partnership, the biological parent may temporarily delegate parental rights to their life partner. If these rights extend beyond 30 days, the arrangement must be certified by a solicitor. While these rights are in effect, both the biological parent and the life partner must jointly make decisions concerning the child's well-being. In the event of a dissolution of the life partnership, the non-biological partner may maintain a personal relationship with the child, if the court determines that this is in the child's best interest. Partner-guardianships can also be established if both of the child's biological parents are deceased, or if one parent is deceased or unknown and the other has had their parental rights terminated due to abuse.[43] Both formal and informal life partners are eligible to apply for partner-guardianship. If granted by the court, the partner-guardian accepts full parental responsibilities and is recorded as such on the child'sbirth certificate. Partner-guardianship constitutes a permanent next-of-kin relationship, carrying the same rights, duties and legal consequences as a biological parent-child relationship.[44][45] The first case of a partner-guardianship was reported on 13 July 2015.[46]
In May 2017, a male couple in a life partnership filed a lawsuit after being denied the right tofoster a child, based on the fact that Croatian law did not grant life partnerships full adoption rights. Prior to the lawsuit, the couple had successfully completed a course designed to prepare potential adoptive and foster parents. Although Croatian law did not explicitly grant joint adoption rights to life partners, the couple argued that theLife Partnership Act and the Family Code both affirm that life partnerships must be treated equally to marriage. Additionally, theLife Partnership Act states that any matters involving children not covered under the "partner-guardian" status are to be resolved in accordance with the Family Code. The couple also stated that, if the court ruled against them, they were prepared to appeal the case to theEuropean Court of Human Rights.[47][48]
On 20 December 2019, the Zagreb Administrative Court ruled in the couple's favour, affirming their right to become foster parents. Their attorney, Sanja Bezbradica Jelavić, commented: "The court's decision is binding, and an appeal is not allowed, so this judgment is final. The written ruling has not yet arrived, but as stated during the announcement, the court accepted our argument in the lawsuit, based on Croatian regulations and theEuropean Convention on Human Rights. As a result, the court ordered the relevant government agencies to implement the new decision in accordance with the judgment. We believe that the agencies will respect the court decision." This ruling came in the context of the Foster Care Act (Zakon o udomiteljstvu), introduced in December 2018, which explicitly excluded same-sex couples from fostering children.[49][50] TheConstitutional Court ruled on appeal on 7 February 2020 that same-sex couples have the right to become foster parents. In its written opinion, the court held "that the impugned legal provisions which left out a certain social group produces general discriminatory consequences against same-sex persons living in formal and informal life partnerships, which is constitutionally unacceptable." President of the Constitutional CourtMiroslav Šeparović further stated: "The point of this decision is that opportunity to provide foster care service must be given to everyone under the same conditions, regardless of whether the potential foster parents are of same-sex orientation. This does not mean that they are privileged, but their foster care must be allowed if they meet the legal requirements".[51][52]
Joint adoption for same-sex couples has been allowed since 2022.[53] In May 2021, the Administrative Court in Zagreb ruled in favour of a same-sex couple, Mladen Kožić and Ivo Šegota, granting them the right to jointly adopt a child. The couple had filed a lawsuit against theMinistry of Demographics, Family, Youth and Social Policy after being denied the opportunity to adopt. The court found that denying adoption solely on the basis of the couple’s sexual orientation and life partnership status was unconstitutional.[54][55] The High Administrative Court upheld the lower court ruling on 26 May 2022.[56]
In September 2017, theruling coalition of Prime MinisterAndrej Plenković, consisting of the Croatian Democratic Union and the Croatian People's Party, rejected a draft proposal granting married couples access to social welfare benefits. This bill would have only applied to married couples, and was ultimately withdrawn after protests from organisations and activists. Sanja Baric, a professor at theUniversity of Rijeka, toldBalkan Insight that if such a narrow definition of the family had been established in law, a constitutional review would have likely overturned it. She cited multiple rulings from the European Court of Human Rights which have defined the family as including single people with children, same-sex couples and grandparents with grandchildren, among other types of families.[57]
Approximately 40 life partnerships had taken place in Croatia by mid-December 2014, mostly inZagreb. Most partners were Croatian citizens, but there were some partnerships where one of the partners was a citizen of another country, including theUnited Kingdom,Austria,Slovenia,Japan,Italy,Serbia andBosnia and Herzegovina.[58][59] The first life partnership where both partners were foreign citizens was performed inOsijek between twoMacedonian women on 20 February 2015, which was also the first partnership conducted in that city.[60] By May 2015, only one partnership dissolution had occurred.[61][62][63] 72 life partnerships were performed in 2015; 38 between two men and 34 between two women. Most were conducted in Zagreb andPrimorje-Gorski Kotar County.[64] The first partnership between prison inmates took place on 23 September 2016 inGospić.[65][66][67]
By the end of 2018, 360 life partnerships had taken place in Croatia; mostly in Zagreb (188), followed byIstria (28), Primorje-Gorski Kotar (27),Split-Dalmatia (12),Osijek-Baranja (7) andVaraždin (7),Dubrovnik-Neretva (4) andVukovar-Srijem (4),Bjelovar-Bilogora (3),Brod-Posavina (2),Krapina-Zagorje (2),Šibenik-Knin (2) andZadar (2), andKarlovac (1),Koprivnica-Križevci (1),Lika-Senj (1),Međimurje (1) andSisak-Moslavina (1).[68]
Several politicians have expressed support forsame-sex marriage in Croatia, mostly members of theSocial Democratic Party (SDS), theCroatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS), theSocial Liberal Party (HSLS), theGreen List and theCroatian Labourists – Labour Party. This includes notablyVesna Pusić, the formerMinister of Foreign and European Affairs,Mirela Holy, the formerMinistry of Environmental Protection and Energy, and former PresidentIvo Josipović.[69][70]
In April 2018, Parliament ratified theCouncil of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, which aims to safeguard the rights of women againstdomestic violence, by 110 votes to 30. Some right-wing groups and the Catholic Church opposed the ratification, falsely claiming that it would legalise same-sex marriage.[71]
In 2013, a conservative group called "On Behalf of the Family" (U ime obitelji) collected more than 700,000 signatures for a referendum to constitutionally define marriage as "a union between a woman and a man".[72] The petition required a minimum of 450,000 signatures, representing 10% of registered voters. Thegovernment and President Josipović expressed opposition to the referendum,[73][74][75][76][77] arguing that it violated theConstitution of Croatia and referendum laws. TheCatholic Church played a significant role in collecting the signatures, with many volunteers stationed in front of churches. According to a poll conducted in August 2013, 55% of respondents supported the initiative, while 31% were opposed.[72][78][79]
Parliament voted against challenging the constitutionality of the referendum proposal at the Constitutional Court. However, threenon-governmental organizations—Zagreb Pride, the Centre for Civil Courage (Centar za građansku hrabrost), and CroL—later filed a case with the court. The court ruled against the organizations in November 2013, arguing that the referendum was constitutional and that there was no legal basis for banning it, although the court also ruled that defining marriage as "a union between a woman and a man" did not prevent the Parliament from enacting civil partnership legislation.[80][81]Jadranka Kosor, who served as prime minister between 2009 and 2011, voted against the constitutional change, despite her previous views onhomosexuality and same-sex unions; she had been voted "homophobe of the year" in 2010 after stating that homosexuality "was not natural". However, she has expressed support for life partnerships.[82][83][84][85] Human rights organisations campaigned strongly against the referendum. The newspaperJutarnji list donated its advertising space to several organisations opposing the referendum. Some religious groups also called on voters to reject the proposed constitutional change.[86][87][88] In November, popular entertainersSeverina,The Beat Fleet andLet 3 organised a concert in support of same-sex marriage at theBan Jelačić Square, gathering thousands of attendees, while various student groups also organised petitions in support of same-sex marriage.[89][90][91] On 30 November, one day before the referendum, around 1,000 people marched in Zagreb in support of same-sex marriage, with marches also occurring inPula,Split andRijeka.[92]
The referendum took place on 1 December 2013. 66.3% voted in favour of the constitutional change, while 33.7% voted against. Turnout was low, as only 37.9% of voters participated. The majority of counties voted in favour of the amendment, with onlyIstria andPrimorje-Gorski Kotar voting against. The highest "No" vote was recorded inLabin at 71.3%, while the highest "Yes" vote was recorded inLećevica at 99.2%. Major cities that opposed the amendment include Pula (64.0%), Rijeka (59.6%),Čakovec (59.2%) andVaraždin (57.3%).[93] Article 61 of the Constitution now reads:[94]
The family shall enjoy special protection of the state. Marriage is a living union between a man and a woman. Marriage and legal relations in marriage, common-law marriage and the family shall be regulated by law.[b]
In the aftermath of the referendum, the government began working on changes to the referendum process, defining what type of questions can be subjected to a popular vote and imposing a 50% turnout.[95] President Josipović also suggested that other forms of unions should be protected by the Constitution to "balance the injustice created by the referendum", but his proposal was rejected.[96] In May 2018, the Social Democratic Party launched an initiative to amend the Constitution to prevent referendums designed to "reduce fundamental civil rights and freedoms".[97]
The 2015Eurobarometer found that 37% ofCroatians thought that same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe.[98] APew Research Center poll published in May 2017 found that 31% of Croatians supported same-sex marriage, while 64% were opposed. Support was highest among religiously-unaffiliated respondents at 61%, but decreased to 29% among Catholics.[99] The 2019 Eurobarometer showed that 39% of Croatians thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 55% were opposed.[100]
The 2023 Eurobarometer found that support for same-sex marriage had increased to 42%, whilst 51% remained opposed. The survey also showed that 39% of Croatians agreed that "there is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex", while 56% disagreed.[101]
| Same-sex marriage prohibited by nationalconstitution | |
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| Same-sex marriage andcivil unions prohibited by constitution | |
