Legal in 22 out of 51 states Legal in 5 out of 6 dependencies and other territories
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are widely diverse in Europe per country. Twenty of the 35 countries that have legalised same-sex marriage worldwide are situated in Europe. A further eleven European countries have legalised civil unions or other forms of more limited recognition for same-sex couples.
All European countries that allow marriage also allow joint adoption by same-sex couples. Of the countries that have civil unions only, none but Croatia and Liechtenstein allow joint adoption, and only San Marino allows step-parent adoption only.
In the 2011 UN General Assembly declaration for LGBT rights, state parties were given a chance to express their support, opposition or abstention on the topic. A majority of the European countries expressed their support, and only Kazakhstan expressed its opposition. State parties that expressed abstention were Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, and Turkey.
The top three European countries in terms of LGBT equality according to ILGA-Europe are Malta, Belgium and Denmark.[5][6] Western Europe is often regarded as being one of the most progressive regions in the world for LGBT people to live in.
Legal status of adoption by same-sex couples in Europe:
Joint adoption legal
Stepparent adoption legal
No laws allowing adoption by same-sex couples
History
Although same-sex relationships were quite common in ancient Greece, Rome and paganCeltic societies, after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, severe laws against homosexual behaviour appeared. An edict by the EmperorTheodosius I in 390 condemned all "passive" homosexual men to death by public burning. This was followed by the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian I in 529, which prescribed public castration and execution for all who committed homosexual acts, both active and passive partners. In 670, Archbishop of Canterbury Theodore of Tarsus published a Penetential prescribing penances for homosexual activity comparable to those prescribed for murder and infanticide.[7] Homosexual behaviour, called sodomy, was considered a capital crime in most European countries, and thousands of homosexual men were executed across Europe during waves of persecution in these centuries. Lesbians were less often singled out for punishment, but they also suffered persecution and execution from time to time.[8]
Since the foundation of Poland in 966, Polish law has never defined homosexuality as a crime.[9] Forty years after Poland lost its independence in 1795, the sodomy laws of Russia, Prussia, and Austria came into force in the partitioned Polish territory. Poland regained its independence in 1918 and abandoned the laws of the occupying powers.[10][11][12] In 1932, Poland codified the equal age of consent for homosexuals and heterosexuals at 15.[13]
In Turkey, homosexuality has been legal since 1858.[14][15]
During the French Revolution, the French National Assembly rewrote the criminal code in 1791, omitting all reference to homosexuality. During the Napoleonic wars, homosexuality was decriminalised in territories coming under French control, such as the Netherlands and many of the pre-unification German states; however, in Germany this ended with the unification of the country under the Prussian Kaiser, as Prussia had long punished homosexuality harshly[citation needed]. On 6 August 1942, the Vichy government made homosexual relations with anyone under twenty-one illegal as part of its conservative agenda. Most Vichy legislation was repealed after the war—but the anti-gay Vichy law remained on the books for four decades until it was finally repealed in August 1982 when the age of consent (15) was again made the same for heterosexual as well as homosexual partners.
Nevertheless, gay men and lesbians continued to live closeted lives, since moral and social disapproval by heterosexual society remained strong across Europe for another two decades, until the modern gay rightsmovement began in 1969.
In 1956, the German Democratic Republic abolished paragraph 175 of the German penal code which outlawed homosexuality.[16]
In 1962, homosexual behaviour was decriminalized in Czechoslovakia, following the scientific research of Kurt Freund that included phallometry of gay men who appeared to have given up sexual relations with other men and established heterosexual marriages. Freund came to the conclusion that a homosexual orientation cannot be changed. However, the claim that phallometry on men was the only reason for the decriminalization of homosexual behaviour in Czechoslovakia is contradicted by the fact that it applied to women as well, as the notion of a male-specific fixity of sexual orientation as an argument for gay rights combined with the notion of female sexual plasticity is adverse to lesbian rights.[17][18]
LGB rights in Europe Same-sex marriage, full adoption rights and:
broad protection from discrimination
limited protection from discrimination
Registered partnership and:
full adoption rights and broad protection
stepchild adoption right and broad protection
broad protection from discrimination
limited protection from discrimination
No partnership recognition and:
broad protection from discrimination
limited protection from discrimination
no protection from discrimination
Restriction on freedom of expression
Trans rights in Europe Legal gender change, surgery not required and:
broad protection from discrimination
limited protection from discrimination
no protection from discrimination
Legal gender change, surgery required and:
broad protection from discrimination
limited protection from discrimination
no protection from discrimination
Gender change illegal and:
broad protection from discrimination
no protection from discrimination
Legality of gender change unknown/ambiguous and no protection
Note: Broad protection means protection from discrimination at least in employment and goods and services, limited protection means protection only in employment or only hate speech law.
In 1972, Sweden became the first country in the world to allow people who were transgender by legislation to surgically change their sex and provide free hormone replacement therapy.[19]
In 1979, a number of people in Sweden called in sick with a case of being homosexual, in protest of homosexuality being classified as an illness. This was followed by an activist occupation of the main office of the National Board of Health and Welfare. Within a few months, Sweden became the first country in Europe from those that had previously defined homosexuality as an illness to remove it as such.[20]
In 1991, Bulgaria was the first country in Europe to ban same-sex marriage.[22] Since then, thirteen countries have followed (Lithuania in 1992, Belarus and Moldova in 1994, Ukraine in 1996, Poland in 1997, Latvia and Serbia in 2006, Montenegro in 2007, Hungary in 2012, Croatia in 2013, Slovakia in 2014, Armenia in 2015 and Georgia in 2018).[22][23]
On 22 October 2009, the assembly of the Church of Sweden, voted strongly in favour of giving its blessing to homosexual couples,[38] including the use of the term marriage, ("matrimony"). The new law was introduced on 1 November 2009. Under the Danish marriage law, ministers can refuse to carry out a same-sex ceremony, but the local bishop must arrange a replacement for their church building.[39] In October 2015, the Church of Iceland voted to allow same-sex couples to marry in its churches.[40] In 2015, the Church of Norway voted to allow same-sex marriages to take place in its churches.[41] The decision was ratified at the annual conference on 11 April 2016.[42][43][44] The church formally amended its marriage liturgy on 30 January 2017, replacing references to "bride and groom" with gender-neutral text.[45] A male same-sex couple was immediately married in the church the moment the changes came into effect, on 1 February 2017.[46]
Recent developments
2020 ILGA-Europe score for each European nation, with 100% being "full equality".
0–10%
11–20%
21–30%
31–40%
41–50%
51–60%
61–70%
71–80%
81–90%
No data
Civil partnerships have been legal in Ireland since 2011. In 2013, the government held a constitutional convention which voted overwhelmingly in favour of amending the constitution in order to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. On 22 May 2015, Irish citizens voted on whether to add the following amendment to the constitution: "Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex". 62.1% of the electorate voted in favour of the amendment, making Ireland the first country worldwide to introduce same-sex marriage through a national referendum. Ireland's first same-sex marriage ceremonies took place in November 2015.[47]
On 1 January 2012, a new constitution of Hungary enacted by the government of Viktor Orbán, leader of the ruling Fidesz party, came into effect, restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples and containing no guarantees of protection from discrimination on account of sexual orientation.[53]
In 2012, the United Kingdom government launched a public same-sex marriage consultation,[54] intending to change the laws applying to England and Wales. Its Marriage Bill was signed into law on 17 July 2013. The Scottish government launched a similar consultation, aiming to legalise same-sex marriage by 2015. On 4 February 2014, the Scottish Parliament passed a bill to legalise same-sex marriages in Scotland as well as ending the "spousal veto" that would allow spouses to deny transgender partners the ability to change their legal gender.[55] Same-sex marriage was extended to Northern Ireland on 21 October 2019 and the law came into effect on 13 January 2020.
In May 2013, France legalised same-sex marriage, with French president François Hollande signing a law authorising marriage and adoption by gay couples.[56]
On 1 December 2013, a referendum was held in Croatia to constitutionally define marriage as a union between a woman and a man. The vote passed, with 65.87% supporting the measure, and a turnout of 37.9%.[58]
On 14 April 2014, the Parliament of Malta voted in favour of the Civil Union Act which recognises same-sex couples and permits them to adopt children. On the same day the Maltese parliament also voted in favour of a constitutional amendment to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
On 4 June 2014, the Slovak parliament overwhelmingly approved a sitting social-democratic government sponsored Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, with 102 deputies for and 18 deputies against the legislation, fulfilling a 2/3 constitutional change requirement (minimum of 100 deputies out of 150 sitting MPs) for enacting this Constitutional amendment.[23]
On 18 June 2014, the Parliament of Luxembourg approved a bill to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption.[59] The law was published in the official gazette on 17 July and took effect 1 January 2015.[60][61][62]
On 15 July 2014, Croatian Parliament passed the Life Partnership Act giving same-sex couples all rights that married couples have, except for adoption.[63] However, the Act allows a parent's life partner to become the child's partner-guardian. Partner-guardianship as an institution similar to step-child adoption in rights and responsibilities, but it does not give parental status to the parent's life partner. Criteria for partner-guardianship and step-parent adoption for opposite-sex couples are the same. Also, regardless of partner-guardianship, a parent's life partner may attain partial parental responsibility over the child either via court or consensus among the parents and life partner, even full in some cases when the court decides that it is in the child's best interest.
In September 2014, a law went into effect in Denmark effectively dropping the former practice of requiring transgender persons to undergo arduous psychiatric evaluation and castration before being allowed legal gender change. By requiring nothing more than a statement of gender identity and subsequent confirmation of the request for gender change after a waiting period of 6 months, this means that anyone wishing their legal gender marker changed can do so with no expert-evaluation and few other formal restrictions.[64] Meanwhile, Norwegian Health Minister Bent Høie has made promises that a similar law for Norway will be drafted soon.[65] And on 18 March 2016, the Government introduced a bill to allow legal gender change without any form of psychiatric or psychological evaluation, diagnosis or any kind of medical intervention, by people aged at least 16. Minors aged between 6 and 16 also could have that possibility with parental consent.[66][67][68] The bill was approved by a vote of 79-13 by Parliament on 6 June.[69][70] It was promulgated on 17 June and took effect on 1 July 2016.[68][71]
On 27 November 2014 the Parliament of Andorra passed a Civil Union bill, legalising also joint adoption for same-sex partners. On 24 December 2014, the bill was published in the official journal, following promulgation by co-prince François Hollande as signature of one of the two co-princes was needed. It took effect on 25 December 2014.[74]
On 12 December 2014 the Parliament of Finland passed a same-sex marriage bill by a 101–90 vote.[75] The law was signed by President Sauli Niinistö on 20 February 2015. In order that the provisions of the framework law would be fully implementable further legislation has to be passed. The law took effect on 1 March 2017.[76]
In January 2015, the Parliament of North Macedonia voted to constitutionally define marriage as a union solely between a man and a woman.[77] On 9 January, the parliamentary committee on constitutional issues approved a series of amendments, including the aforementioned limitation of marriage and the additional requirement of a two-thirds majority for any future regulation of marriage, family and civil unions (a requirement previously reserved only for issues such as sovereignty and territorial questions). On 20 January, the amendments were approved in parliament by 72 votes to 4. However, in order for these amendments to be added to the constitution, a final vote was required. This final parliamentary session was commenced on 26 January but never concluded, as the ruling coalition did not obtain the two-thirds majority required. The parliamentary session on the constitutional amendments was in recess until the end of 2015, thus the amendement failed.[78]
On 7 February 2015, Slovaks voted in a referendum to ban same-sex marriage and same-sex parental adoption.[79] The result of the referendum was for enacting the ban proposals, with 95% and 92% votes for, respectively.[80] However, the referendum was deemed invalid under referendum law because of a low turnout (below 50% requirement).[81]
In November 2015, the Parliament of Cyprus approved a bill which legalised civil unions for same-sex couples in a 39–12 vote.[83] It took effect on 9 December 2015.[84][85]
A bill to legalise civil unions for same-sex couples in Greece was approved in December 2015 by its Parliament in a 194–55 vote.[86] The law was signed by the President and took effect on 24 December 2015.[87]
On 29 April 2016, the Parliament of the Faroe Islands, a Danish dependency, voted to extend Danish same-sex marriage legislation to the territory, excluding the possibility to be legally wed in a religious ceremony. The Danish Parliament still had to approve the exclusion of religious marriages for the Faroe Islands, unlike in Denmark where churches can perform marriages between persons of the same sex.[88][89] The law within the Faroe Islands went into effect on 1 July 2017, after the ratification formality by both the Danish Parliament and royal assent.
A bill to legalise civil unions for same-sex couples in Italy was approved on 11 May 2016 by the Parliament of Italy. The law was signed by the President on 20 May 2016.[90] It was published in the Official Gazette on 21 May and therefore entered into force on 5 June 2016.[91]
On 21 September 2016, the States of Guernsey approved the bill to legalize same-sex marriage, in a 33–5 vote.[92][93] It received Royal Assent on 14 December 2016. The law went into effect on 1 July 2017.
On 26 October 2016, the Gibraltar Parliament unanimously approved a bill to allow same-sex marriage by a vote of 15–0. It received Royal Assent 1 November 2016.[94] The law went into effect on 15 December 2016.
On 31 January 2017, the Supreme Court of Cassation (Italy) refused, on procedural grounds, to rescind a lower judgment recognising a marriage between two French women (one of these had the right to claim Italian citizenship iure sanguinis), officiated in the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. This is the first time a same-sex marriage is admitted in Italy, but the judgment does not imply that this will necessarily be the case in general terms.[95]
Within July 2017, both the Parliaments of Germany and Malta approved bills to allow same-sex marriage. The Presidents of both countries signed the bills into law. The same-sex marriage laws within Malta went into effect on 1 September 2017 and the same-sex marriage laws within Germany went into effect on 1 October 2017.[97][98]
In October 2017, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted the first intersex-specific resolution of its kind from a European intergovernmental institution, after 33 members voted in favour. The resolution called for intersex peoples right to bodily autonomy and physical integrity by calling for prohibition of "medically unnecessary sex-"normalising" surgery, sterilisation and other treatments practised on intersex children without their informed consent" It recommends the committee of ministers to bring the resolution to the attention of their governments, the need for increased psychosocial support, and calls for policymakers to "ensure that anti-discrimination legislation effectively applies to and protects intersex people."[99][100]
On 5 December 2017, the Constitutional Court of Austria struck down the ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. Same-sex marriage became legal on 1 January 2019.[101][102]
In late 2018 San Marino parliament voted to legalise civil unions with stepchild adoption rights.[103] The law to permit civil unions became fully operational on 11 February 2019, following a number of further legal and administrative changes.
On 26 September 2021, nearly two thirds of Swiss voters agreed to legalise civil marriage and the right to adopt children for same-sex couples in an optional referendum,[106][107] after the National Council and the Council of States had both approved the aforementioned legalisations on 18 December 2020. The new law has taken effect on 1 July 2022.[108][109][110][111]
On 20 June 2023, the Parliament of Estonia approved a bill to allow same-sex marriage by a vote of 55–34. It took effect on 1 January 2024.[112]
The Greek government announced that in 2024 the Parliament will vote to approve same-sex marriage and adoption.[113]
2019 Pew Research Center Poll: Percentage of responders who said that homosexuality should be accepted by society:
0–10%
11–20%
21–30%
31–40%
41–50%
51–60%
61–70%
71–80%
81–90%
91–100%
No data
Eurobarometer 2019: % of people in each country who agree with the statement that "Gay, lesbian and bisexual people should have the same rights as heterosexual people."[114]
In a 2002 Pew Global Attitudes Project surveyed by the Pew Research Center, showed majorities in every Western European nation said homosexuality should be accepted by society, while most Russians, Poles and Ukrainians disagreed.[115]
According to pollster Gallup Europe in 2003, women, younger generations, and the highly educated are more likely to support same-sex marriage and adoption rights for gay people than other demographics.[116]
A Eurobarometer in 2006 surveying up to 30,000 people from each European Union country, showed split opinion around the then 27 member states on the issue of same-sex marriage. The majority of support came from the Netherlands (82%), Sweden (71%), Denmark (69%), Belgium (62%), Luxembourg (58%), Spain (56%), Finland (54%), Germany (52%) and the Czech Republic (52%). All other countries within the EU had below 50% support; with Romania (11%), Latvia (12%), Cyprus (14%), Bulgaria (15%), Greece (15%), Lithuania (17%), Poland (17%), Hungary (18%) and Malta (18%) at the other end of the list.[117] Same-sex adoption had majority support from only two countries: Netherlands at 69% and Sweden at 51% and the least support from Poland and Malta on 7%, respectively.[117]
A more recent survey carried out in October 2008 by The Observer affirmed that a small majority of Britons—55%—support same-sex marriage.[118] A 2013 poll shows that the majority of the Irish public support same-sex marriage and adoption, 73% and 60%, respectively.[119] France has support for same-sex marriage at 62%,[120] and Russian at 14%.[121] Italy has support for the 'Civil Partnership Law' between people of the same gender at 45% with 47% opposed.[122] In 2009 58.9% of Italians supported civil unions, while a 40.4% minority supported same-sex marriage.[123] In 2010, 63.9% of Greeks supported same-sex partnerships, while a 38.5% minority supported same-sex marriage.[124] In 2012 a poll by MaltaToday[125] showed that 41% of Maltese supported same-sex marriage, with support increasing to 60% amongst the 18–35 age group. In a 2013 opinion poll conducted by CBOS, 65% of Poles were against same-sex civil unions, 72% of Poles were against same-sex marriage, 88% were against adoption by same-sex couples, and 68% were against lesbian, gay, or bisexual people publicly showing their way of life.[126] In Croatia, a poll from November 2013 revealed that 59% of Croats think that marriage should be constitutionally defined as a union between a man and a woman, while 31% do not agree with the idea.[127] A CBOS opinion poll from February 2014 found that 70% of Poles believe same-sex sexual activity is morally unacceptable, while only 22% believed it is morally acceptable.[128]
Public support for same-sex marriage from EU member states as measured from a 2015 poll is the greatest in the Netherlands (91%), Sweden (90%), Denmark (87%), Spain (84%), Ireland (80%), Belgium (77%), Luxembourg (75%), the United Kingdom (71%) and France (71%).[129] In recent years, support has risen most significantly in Malta, from 18% in 2006 to 65% in 2015 and in Ireland from 41% in 2006 to 80% in 2015.[130]
After the approval of same-sex marriage in Portugal in January 2010, 52% of the Portuguese population stated that they were in favor of the legislation.[131] In 2008, 58% of the Norwegian voters supported same-sex marriage, which was introduced in the same year, and 31 percent were against it.[132] In January 2013, 54.1% of Italians respondents supported same-sex marriage.[133] In a late January 2013 survey, 77.2% of Italians respondents supported the recognition of same-sex unions.[134]
In Greece support more than tripled between 2006 and 2017. In 2006 15% responded that they agreed with same-sex marriages being allowed throughout Europe.[130] In 2017 according to a survey 50.04% of Greeks agreed with gay marriage. A more recent survey in 2020 showed that 56% of the Greek population accept gay marriage.[135][136]
In Ireland, a 2008 survey revealed 84% of people supported civil unions for same-sex couples (and 58% for same-sex marriage),[137] while a 2010 survey showed 67% supported same-sex marriage[138] by 2012 this figure had risen to 73% in support.[139] On 22 May 2015, 62.1% of the electorate voted to enshrine same-sex marriage in the Irish constitution as equal to heterosexual marriage.
A March 2013 survey by Taloustutkimus found that 58% of Finns supported same-sex marriage.[140]
In Croatia, a poll conducted in November 2013 revealed that 59% of Croats think that marriage should be constitutionally defined as a union between a man and a woman, while 31% do not agree with the idea.[141]
In Poland a 2013 public poll revealed that 70% of Poles reject the idea of registered partnerships.[142] Another survey in February 2013 revealed that 55% were against and 38% of Poles support the idea of registered partnerships for same-sex couples.[143]
In the European Union, support tends to be the lowest in Bulgaria, Latvia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Lithuania. The average percentage of support for same-sex marriage in the European Union as of 2006 when it had 25 members was 44%, which had descended from a previous percentage of 53%. The change was caused by more socially conservative nations joining the EU.[130] In 2015, with 28 members, average support was at 61%.[129]
A 2015 NDI public opinion poll shows that only 10% of the population in the Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia) believe LGBTI marriages are acceptable, in contrast to 88% who think they're unacceptable.[144]
Adoption
Indicates the country/territory has legalized same-sex adoption nationwide
Indicates that same-sex adoption is legal in certain parts of the country
Indicates that the country has step-child adoption or partner-guardianship
/ Stepchild adoption legal in 19/27 member states; joint adoption legal in 16/27 member states
Legal in all member states
Membership requires a state to ban discrimination based on person's sexual orientation in employment. 4/27 states ban some anti-gay discrimination. 23/27 states ban all anti-gay discrimination
Legal in East Germany since 1968 Legal in West Germany since 1969; equal age of consent since 1988 in East Germany and since 1994 in unified Germany + UN decl. sign.[166][183]
Registered life partnerships from 2001 to 2017 (existing partnerships and new foreign partnerships still recognised)[184][185]
/ Unregistered cohabitation since 2012; registered partnership proposed 2019
Constitutional ban since 1997[207] (Article 18 of the Constitution is generally interpreted as limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples[208][209][210][211][212][213])[a]
LGBT individuals may adopt, but not same-sex couples[215]
Legal since 1962 (As part of Czechoslovakia); equal age of consent since 1990 + UN decl. sign.[166]
/ some limited rights for unregistered cohabiting same-sex couples since 2018; Limited residency rights for married same-sex couples since 2018 (Proposed)
Constitutional ban since 2014.
LGBT individuals may adopt, but not same-sex couples[218]
/ Banned from military service during peacetime, but during wartime homosexuals are permitted to enlist as partially able[245]
/ (Highly bureaucratic, lengthy two-stage process: deciding body meets only twice a year; permission for medical or surgical interventions only at the second stage. Flaw in passport conversion whereby passport number may reveal former designation of sex to agencies.)[246]
Male legal since 1993 Female always legal[250][166] Illegal in practice in Chechnya, where homosexuals are abducted and sent to concentration camps based on their perceived sexual orientation.
Act on the elimination of discrimination bans all discrimination based on both gender identity and gender expression. Gender change is regulated by special policy issued by Ministry of Health.[342]
Same-sex couples in a civil partnership may become foster parents;[351] LGBT individuals may adopt, but not same-sex couples (parliament to vote in 2024)
Legal from 1858, when nominally a vassal of the Ottoman Empire to 1860,[381] and again since 1994 (As part of Yugoslavia); equal age of consent since 2006 + UN decl. sign.[166]
Legal since 1983; equal age of consent since 2012 + UN decl. sign.[420][421][166]
Civil partnerships performed in the UK abroad recognised for succession purposes in inheritance and other matters respecting interests in property since 2012[422][423] Legal cohabitation since 2017[424]
Legal since 2017 in Guernsey, since 2018 in Alderney, and since 2020 in Sark[425] [426]
Transgender people are allowed to change their legal gender and to have their new gender recognised as a result of the Gender Recognition Act 2009 (c.11)[448][449]
Female always legal. Male legal in England and Wales since 1967, in Scotland since 1981, and in Northern Ireland since 1982; equal age of consent since 2001 + UN decl. sign.[166]
^In January 2019, a lower administrative court in Warsaw ruled that the language in Article 18 of the Constitution does not explicitly ban same-sex marriage.[214]
^Jag känner mig lite homosexuell idag | quistbergh.se
The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 1973 with publication of its DSM II. Source: The American Psychiatric Association, and DSM II. Thus, the American Psychiatric Association took this step six years before a similar action was taken in Sweden.
^103982@au.dk (13 April 2018). "Vis". danmarkshistorien.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2 June 2018.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"The Constitution of the Republic of Poland". Sejm RP. Retrieved 5 May 2015. Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.
^Judgment of the Supreme Court of 7 July 2004, II KK 176/04, W dotychczasowym orzecznictwie Sądu Najwyższego, wypracowanym i ugruntowanym zarówno w okresie obowiązywania poprzedniego, jak i obecnego Kodeksu postępowania karnego, a także w doktrynie (por. wypowiedzi W. Woltera, A. Zolla, A. Wąska), pojęcie "wspólne pożycie" odnoszone jest wyłącznie do konkubinatu, a w szczególności do związku osób o różnej płci, odpowiadającego od strony faktycznej stosunkowi małżeństwa (którym w myśl art. 18 Konstytucji jest wyłącznie związek osób różnej płci). Tego rodzaju interpretację Sąd Najwyższy, orzekający w niniejszej sprawie, w pełni podziela i nie znajduje podstaw do uznania za przekonywujące tych wypowiedzi pojawiających się w piśmiennictwie, w których podejmowane są próby kwestionowania takiej interpretacji omawianego pojęcia i sprowadzania go wyłącznie do konkubinatu (M. Płachta, K. Łojewski, A.M. Liberkowski). Rozumiejąc bowiem dążenia do rozszerzającej interpretacji pojęcia "wspólne pożycie", użytego w art. 115 § 11 k.k., należy jednak wskazać na całkowity brak w tym względzie dostatecznie precyzyjnych kryteriów.
^"Judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 11 May 2005, K 18/04". Polska Konstytucja określa bowiem małżeństwo jako związek wyłącznie kobiety i mężczyzny. A contrario nie dopuszcza więc związków jednopłciowych. [...] Małżeństwo (jako związek kobiety i mężczyzny) uzyskało w prawie krajowym RP odrębny status konstytucyjny zdeterminowany postanowieniami art. 18 Konstytucji. Zmiana tego statusu byłaby możliwa jedynie przy zachowaniu rygorów trybu zmiany Konstytucji, określonych w art. 235 tego aktu.
^"Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland of 25 October 2016, II GSK 866/15". Ustawa o świadczeniach zdrowotnych finansowanych ze środków publicznych nie wyjaśnia, co prawda, kto jest małżonkiem. Pojęcie to zostało jednak dostatecznie i jasno określone we wspomnianym art. 18 Konstytucji RP, w którym jest mowa o małżeństwie jako o związku kobiety i mężczyzny. W piśmiennictwie podkreśla się, że art. 18 Konstytucji ustala zasadę heteroseksualności małżeństwa, będącą nie tyle zasadą ustroju, co normą prawną, która zakazuje ustawodawcy zwykłemu nadawania charakteru małżeństwa związkom pomiędzy osobami jednej płci (vide: L. Garlicki Komentarz do art. 18 Konstytucji, s. 2-3 [w:] Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Komentarz, Wydawnictwo Sejmowe, Warszawa 2003). Jest wobec tego oczywiste, że małżeństwem w świetle Konstytucji i co za tym idzie – w świetle polskiego prawa, może być i jest wyłącznie związek heteroseksualny, a więc w związku małżeńskim małżonkami nie mogą być osoby tej samej płci.
^*Gallo D; Paladini L; Pustorino P, eds. (2014). Same-Sex Couples before National, Supranational and International Jurisdictions. Berlin: Springer. p. 215. ISBN978-3-642-35434-2. the drafters of the 1997 Polish Constitution included a legal definition of a marriage as the union of a woman and a man in the text of the constitution in order to ensure that the introduction of same-sex marriage would not be passed without a constitutional amendment.
Marek Safjan; Leszek Bosek, eds. (2016). Konstytucja RP. Tom I. Komentarz do art. 1-86. Warszawa: C.H. Beck Wydawnictwo Polska. ISBN9788325573652. Z przeprowadzonej powyżej analizy prac nad Konstytucją RP wynika jednoznacznie, że zamieszczenie w art. 18 Konstytucji RP zwrotu definicyjnego "związek kobiety i mężczyzny" stanowiło reakcję na fakt pojawienia się w państwach obcych regulacji poddającej związki osób tej samej płci regulacji zbliżonej lub zbieżnej z instytucją małżeństwa. Uzupełniony tym zwrotem przepis konstytucyjny "miał pełnić rolę instrumentu zapobiegającego wprowadzeniu takiej regulacji do prawa polskiego" (A. Mączyński, Konstytucyjne podstawy prawa rodzinnego, s. 772). Innego motywu jego wprowadzenia do Konstytucji RP nie da się wskazać (szeroko w tym zakresie B. Banaszkiewicz, "Małżeństwo jako związek kobiety i mężczyzny", s. 640 i n.; zob. też Z. Strus, Znaczenie artykułu 18 Konstytucji, s. 236 i n.). Jak zauważa A. Mączyński istotą tej regulacji było normatywne przesądzenie nie tylko o niemożliwości unormowania w prawie polskim "małżeństw pomiędzy osobami tej samej płci", lecz również innych związków, które mimo tego, że nie zostałyby określone jako małżeństwo miałyby spełniać funkcje do niego podobną (A. Mączyński, Konstytucyjne podstawy prawa rodzinnego, s. 772; tenże, Konstytucyjne i międzynarodowe uwarunkowania, s. 91; podobnie L. Garlicki, Artykuł 18, w: Garlicki, Konstytucja, t. 3, uw. 4, s. 2, który zauważa, że w tym zakresie art. 18 nabiera "charakteru normy prawnej").
Scherpe JM, ed. (2016). European Family Law Volume III: Family Law in a European Perspective Family. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 121. ISBN978-1-78536-304-7. Constitutional bans on same-sex marriage are now applicable in ten European countries: Article 32, Belarus Constitution; Article 46 Bulgarian Constitution; Article L Hungarian Constitution, Article 110, Latvian Constitution; Article 38.3 Lithuanian Constitution; Article 48 Moldovan Constitution; Article 71 Montenegrin Constitution; Article 18 Polish Constitution; Article 62 Serbian Constitution; and Article 51 Ukrainian Constitution.
Stewart J, Lloyd KC (2016). "Marriage Equality in Europe". Family Advocate. 38 (4): 37–40. Article 18 of the Polish Constitution limits the institution of marriage to opposite-sex couples.
^First post-Medieval criminal code in the Principality of Serbia, named "Kaznitelni zakon" (Law of Penalties), adopted in 1860, punishes sexual intercourse "against the order of nature" between males with 6 months to 4 years imprisonment. V. Para # 206, p. 82 of the "Kaznitelni zakon 1860" in Slavo-Serbian orthography (PDF)
^"Legal Aspects of Gender Reassignment Surgery in Turkey: A Case Report". Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 18 (1): 77–88. 28 January 2011. doi:10.1177/097152151001800104. S2CID143761091.
Friedman, Jack. Religious Freedom and Gay Rights: Emerging Conflicts in the United States and Europe (Oxford University Press, 2016).
Helfer, Laurence R. "Lesbian and Gay Rights as Human Rights: Strategies for a United Europe." Virginia Journal of International Law 32 (1991): 157+. online
Sremac, Srdjan. and R. Ruard Ganzevoort, eds. Religious and Sexual Nationalisms in Central and Eastern Europe (BRILL, 2015). online
Rydström, Jens. Odd couples: A history of gay marriage in Scandinavia (Amsterdam Univ. Press, 2011).
Rydström J. & K. Mustola, eds. Criminally queer: homosexuality and criminal law in Scandinavia 1842–1999 (Amsterdam: Aksant, 2007). online
Slootmaeckers, Koen; Touquet, Heleen; Vermeersch, Peter, eds. (2016). The EU Enlargement and Gay Politics: The Impact of Eastern Enlargement on Rights, Activism and Prejudice. Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN978-1-137-48093-4.
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