After the Bulgarian authorities withheld a birth certificate for a daughter of a couple of same-sex, the European Court of Justice (CJEU), ruled that all member countries must recognise LGBT+ parents as one family.
The landmark decision, made on Tuesday, saw the European court declare that member states must all guarantee the same right, regardless of domestic policies, to guarantee the child’s freedom of movement across the bloc.
Bulgarian Kalina Ivanova and British Gibraltar-born Jane Jones launched the case after Bulgarian authorities wouldn’t grant a birth certificate to their daughter, who was born in Spain in 2019, as officials stated that a child cannot legally have two mothers.
Continue reading
Ivanova was also prevented from obtaining Bulgarian citizenship because of the inability to recognize same-sex partnerships and marriages.
As neither of the mothers are Spanish, they couldn’t receive citizenship there and, under the British Nationality Act of 1981, UK citizenship can’t be transferred to a child born in Gibraltar. Their child may be made stateless if they don’t have a passport, citizenship or any other documentation. The parents filed an appeal with the CJEU.
The CJEU upheld the rights of LGBT+ couples and their families, declaring that the deprivation of the child from her is against the law “right of free movement”Because “her parents are of the same-sex”She is not allowed to be harmed “fundamental rights” guaranteed under EU legislation.
Accepting that each nation can make its own decisions “whether or not to allow marriage and parenthood”For same-sex partners, the court said that it cannot be considered as a violation the rights of the courts “child derives from EU law.”
The CJEU ruled that Bulgaria must issue a passport to the child. This case can’t be appealed.
Lawyers representing parents praised the decision and called it “agreeable”. “huge step for all LGBTQ families in Bulgaria and Europe.”Both men promised they would continue to pursue legal recognition of Bulgarian parents as legal guardians for the child.
“The judgment has brought long-awaited clarification that parenthood established in one EU Member State cannot be discarded by another, under the pretence of protecting the ‘national identity’,”Arpi Atvetisyan was the head of litigation for NGO ILGA-Europe and he responded to this ruling.
[ad_2]
