Latvian court recognises same-sex couple for the first time

The judge ruled that there was "a public legal relationship" between a same-sex couple. Thereby, he recognised the family relationship between the case applicants in the sense of the 110th article of the Constitution. That is reported by Eng.lsm.

This article states that the state must protect and support marriage – a union between a man and a woman, the family, parents' rights, and the rights of the child. According to the Court, same-sex couples also fall under the concept of family, as there are close personal links between the partners based on understanding and respect.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier that same-sex couples must go to court to receive legal recognition of their relationship. A judge must then determine whether the relationship classifies as a family relationship. The judge's decision can be appealed to the Administrative District court within one month.

The former president of the Constitutional Court, Sanita Osipova, regrets that same-sex couples still have to go to court to give their relationship an official status. "The judicial system has been working on this for a long time. And you have to understand that same-sex couples started to defend their rights in the Administrative Process many years ago", she said. Osipova would like to see that same-sex couples would be recognised through regulatory enactments.