| 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 |
Moldova does not recognizesame-sex marriage orcivil unions. TheConstitution of Moldova definesmarriage as being between "a husband and a wife".
Registered partnerships (Romanian:parteneriat înregistrat,pronounced[parteˈnerjatɨnreˈdʒistrat])[a] are not recognized in Moldova. However, as a member of theCouncil of Europe, Moldova falls under the jurisdiction of theEuropean Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In January 2023, theGrand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled inFedotova and Others v. Russia thatArticle 8 of theEuropean Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees a right to private and family life, imposes apositive obligation on all member states of the Council of Europe to establish a legal framework recognizing same-sex partnerships.[2][3][4] If established, such a scheme would likely offer same-sex couples some of the rights, benefits and responsibilities ofmarriage.
TheFedotova ruling was vehemently opposed by theMoldovan Orthodox Church, the largest church in Moldova.MetropolitanVladimir stated that Moldova was "in a worrying situation", saying that attempts to legalise civil partnerships "will be followed by a proportional reaction because such decisions go against the eminently Orthodox and historical conscience of the people. The Orthodox Church of Moldova urges the faithful to take a stand, obviously, strictly within limits allowed by the legislation in force of the Republic of Moldova, so that such legalisation and promotion of sin does not take place."[5]
Article 48(2) of theConstitution of Moldova states that "[t]he family shall be founded on a freely consented marriage between a husband and wife, on their full equality in rights and the parents' right and obligation to ensure their children's upbringing, education and training."[6] In addition, Article 48(1) states: "The family shall represent the natural and fundamental factor of the society, and shall enjoy the State and society protection." The wording has been interpreted as banningsame-sex marriage, though theConstitutional Court of Moldova has not ruled on a case challenging this definition. The Family Code refers to married spouses as "man and woman".[7] Article 2 of the code states that "family relations are performed according to the principles of [...] voluntariness of the marriage union of the man and woman [...]".Transgender persons are permitted to marry a person of the opposite sex aftersex reassignment surgery and the changing of their identification documents to reflect theirlegal gender.[8]
In December 2022, pro-Russia news outlets were erroneously reporting that theEuropean Union had made the legalisation of same-sex marriage a condition for Moldova'saccession to the union. A motion published in theOfficial Journal of the European Union on 16 December 2022 "invites the Republic of Moldova to eliminate the constitutional ban on same-sex marriages established in 1994 and to establish measures to combat discrimination for LGBTI people." The motion does not oblige and does not make the accession to the EU conditional on amending the Constitution.[9]
In March 2023, four same-sex couples who were deniedmarriage licenses announced plans to challenge the refusal at the European Court of Human Rights.[10] A couple, Angelica Frolov and Leo Zbancă, filed alawsuit in April 2023 seeking legal recognition of their relationship.[11][12][13] In June 2023, activists demonstrated inChișinău for the legal recognition of same-sex unions. A spokesperson for the LGBT advocacy group GenderDoc-M said, "Currently, we have new initiatives [such as the marriage equality campaign], which for [us] is a sign of our development."[14]
Opinion polls report that a majority ofMoldovans oppose the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. A 2014 survey from the Institute for Public Policy (IPP) showed that 6% of Moldovans supported same-sex marriage, while 87% were opposed.[15] The same survey also showed that only 6% of Moldovans knew a gay person.
A 2017Pew Research Center poll found that 5% of Moldovans supported same-sex marriage, the lowest inEastern Europe alongsideRussia.[16] Support is increasing, with a 2022 poll commissioned by GenderDoc-M showing that 14% ofChișinău residents supported same-sex marriage.[17] The poll also showed that residents who had a negative attitude towards LGBT people decreased from 55% to 33% in the space of three years. LGBT advocate Angelica Frolov said, in response to the survey, "Already in 2022 we have some changes at the level of legislation. Finally, the law providing for punishments for hate crimes and hate speech was passed. It is a step forward because the LGBT community will also be protected and is expressly mentioned in the law among the protected criteria. There are a lot of positive developments in the country. Obviously they are because the homophobic party, the Party of Socialists, has left, which was doing everything it could to prevent equal rights for some groups. There came a pro-European party that believes that the people should not be divided, that all people, equally, must enjoy their rights", referencing the2020 election in whichMaia Sandu of theParty of Action and Solidarity defeatedIgor Dodon of theParty of Socialists, known for itssocial conservatism.
The Oliari case is important for being the first judgment in which the ECtHR established the granting of legal "recognition and protection" to same-sex couples as a positive obligation for the Member States of the Council of Europe on the basis of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
| Same-sex marriage prohibited by nationalconstitution | |
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| Same-sex marriage andcivil unions prohibited by constitution | |
