Same-sex adoption in Europe explained

Adoption by LGBT people in Europe differs in legal recognition from country to country. Full joint adoption or step-child adoption or both is legal in 23 of the 56 European countries, and in all dependent territories.

Full joint adoption by same-sex couples is legal in 23 European countries, namely Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. San Marino and Czechia (eff. 1/1/25) permits step-child adoption in which the registered partner can adopt the biological and, in some cases, the adopted child of his or her partner. In Italy stepchild adoption has been recognized by courts since 2016 after the Supreme Court of Cassation stated that a couple in a civil union can adopt their partner’s child.

In dependent territories, joint adoption by same-sex couples is legal in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Guernsey, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, the Isle of Man and Jersey. Several countries are currently considering permitting full joint or step-child adoption by same-sex couples.

Current situation

Joint adoption

Jurisdiction Entry into force Notes
[1] 25 December 2014
[2] 1 January 2016
[3] 30 June 2006
[4] 26 May 2022
  • First instance decision 5 May 2021, 26 May 2022 High Administrative Court rejects Ministry appeal.
[5] 1 July 2010
[8] Estonia1 January 2024
  • Only parties to a cohabitation agreement or marriage may adopt
[9] 1 March 2017
[10] 18 May 2013
  • Also applies to all French overseas territories
[11] 1 October 2017
[12] 16 February 2024
[13] 27 June 2006
[14] 6 May 2016
[15] 1 June 2023
[16] 1 January 2015
[17] 17 April 2014
[18] [19] 1 April 2001
  • The law initially applied to the European Netherlands only.
  • In 2012 its scope was expanded to include the Caribbean Netherlands.
[20] 1 January 2009
[21] 1 March 2016
[22] [23] 8 July 2022
  • The Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs stated that the existing law allowed for second-parent adoption beginning in July 2011.
  • In 2022, the Constitutional Court made separate rulings legalising same-sex marriage and joint couple adoption.
[24] 3 July 2005
[25] 1 February 2003
[26] [27] 1 July 2022
[28] [29] 7 November 2002
  • The law initially applied to England and Wales only.
  • In Scotland a separate law came into force on 28 September 2009.[30]
  • In Northern Ireland since 11 December 2013[31]
  • In Isle of Man since 2 April 2011[32]
  • In Jersey since 2 April 2012[33]
  • In Gibraltar since 28 March 2014[34]
  • In Guernsey since 3 April 2017[35]

Non-European Territories:

  • In both Bermuda and the Pitcairn Islands since 2015.[36] [37] [38]
  • In the Falkland Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and Tristan da Cunha since 2017.[39]
  • The Cayman Islands since 2020.
  • Not available in other overseas territories

Step-child adoption

Jurisdiction Entry into force Notes
1 January 2025
case law since 2016
  • Can be granted by court order.[40]
San Marino11 February 2019
  • Parties in a civil union may adopt stepchildren only

Public opinion

According to pollster Gallup Europe, women, younger generations, and the highly educated are more likely to support same-sex marriage and adoption rights for gay people than other demographics.[41]

Court cases about same-sex adoption

V.M.A. vs Sofia municipality, Pancharevo district, Bulgaria[42]

On 15 April 2021, the European Court of Justice found that a member state is required to grant citizenship to the child of a same-sex couple regardless of the legality of same-sex marriages in that state. A married lesbian couple was living in Spain when they had their first child in December 2019. One woman had Bulgarian citizenship, and the other had British. The Spanish birth certificate designated one mother as “Mother A” and the other as “Mother.” When the Bulgarian woman applied for citizenship for her daughter in Bulgaria, she was denied because Bulgaria does not recognize same-sex unions and registrations. Article 46 of the Bulgarian Constitution reads, “Marriage is a voluntary union between a man and a woman,” hence not allowing for same-sex relationships. However, it was unclear whether their status as a same-sex couple should interfere with the citizenship of their child. The European Court of Justice found that despite Bulgaria’s constitutional objection to homosexual marriages, they could not deny the child their Bulgarian nationality, regardless of whether the child was the legal or biological child of the applicant. Therefore, the child was issued a Bulgarian birth certificate and granted citizenship to Bulgaria. The couple was protected by Article 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which ensures members’ rights to move freely between countries. The Bulgarian woman’s new residence in Spain did not destroy her child’s right to Bulgarian citizenship.

Gas and Dubois vs France[43]

Two French women who had been living together since 1989 joined a civil partnership agreement in 2002. In 2000, one of the women traveled to Belgium for an artificial insemination treatment. Upon birth, only the biological mother was granted parental custody of the child. The other mother applied for a simple adoption in order to obtain joint parental custody and was denied. Article 365 of the French Civil Code clarifies that a simple adoption is available to married couples specifically, but Article 144 prohibited same-sex marriage.[44] Therefore, they could not achieve the legal status required for simple adoption. The women appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that they were discriminated against based on sexual orientation, claiming that their right to a private family life (Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights) and their right to equity under the law (Article 14) had been violated. The court held in a 6-1 decision that the women had experienced no legal violation of Articles 8 and 14, so no simple adoption for joint custody would be allowed.[45]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Llei 34/2014, del 27 de novembre, qualificada de les unions civils i de modificació de la Llei qualificada del matrimoni, de 30 de juny de 1995 . Bopa.ad . 2017-03-21.
  2. Web site: Homosexuelle dürfen künftig adoptieren – ohne Gesetzesnovelle - Homosexualität und Homophobie - derStandard.at › Panorama . Der Standard . 2017-03-21.
  3. Web site: refLex - Chrono . Reflex.raadvst-consetat.be . 2017-03-21.
  4. News: 2022-05-26. Sud donio povijesnu odluku: Istospolne partnere više se ne smije diskriminirati kod posvajanja djece [Court reaches historic decision, same-sex couples can no longer be discriminated regarding adoption]]. hr. Jutarnji list. 2022-05-26.
  5. Web site: Lov om ændring af lov om registreret partnerskab, lov om en børnefamilieydelse og lov om børnetilskud og forskudsvis udbetaling af børnebidrag - Udvidet adgang for registrerede partnere til adoption og overførsel af forældremyndighed m.v. . Retsinformation.dk . 2017-03-21.
  6. Web site: 1. juli 2017: Nú kunnu samkynd giftast - Føroyski portalurin - portal.fo. 2017-07-02. 2017-07-12. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20170702004423/http://portal.fo/nu+kunnu+samkynd+giftast.html. 2 July 2017.
  7. Web site: Lovforslag. Folketinget. da. 2017-07-12.
  8. News: Kooseluseadus . et . . 9 October 2014.
  9. Web site: Lag om ändring av äktenskapslagen 156/2015 - Ursprungliga författningar - FINLEX ® . Finlex.fi . 2017-03-21.
  10. Web site: LOI n° 2013-404 du 17 mai 2013 ouvrant le mariage aux couples de personnes de même sexe . fr. Legifrance.gouv.fr . 2013-05-17 . 2017-03-21.
  11. Web site: Gesetz zur Einführung des Rechts auf Eheschließung für Personen gleichen Geschlechts. Bundesgesetzblatt. de. 28 July 2017. 28 July 2017.
  12. Web site: Ισότητα στον πολιτικό γάμο, τροποποίηση του Αστικού Κώδικα και άλλες διατάξεις. Hellenic_Parliament. el. 15 February 2024. 15 February 2024.
  13. Web site: 1445/132 lög í heild: réttarstaða samkynhneigðra | Þingtíðindi | Alþingi . is. Althingi.is . 2017-03-21.
  14. Web site: Children and Family Relationships Act 2015. Irishstatuebook.ie. 29 June 2015.
  15. Web site: Art. 25 des Partnerschaftsgesetzes in Kraft - Ab heute dürfen auch homosexuelle Paare ein Stiefkind adoptieren).. vaterland.li. de. 1 June 2023. 4 June 2023.
  16. Web site: Mémorial A n° 125 de 2014 - Legilux . Legilux.public.lu . 2014-07-17 . 2017-03-21 . 16 September 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160916105733/http://www.legilux.public.lu/leg/a/archives/2014/0125/a125.pdf . dead .
  17. Web site: ACT No. IX of 2014 . Justiceservices.gov.mt . 2017-03-21.
  18. Web site: wetten.nl - Regeling - Wet openstelling huwelijk - BWBR0012099 . Wetten.overheid.nl . 2017-03-21.
  19. Web site: wetten.nl - Regeling - Invoeringswet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba - BWBR0028063 . Wetten.overheid.nl . 2017-03-21.
  20. Web site: Lov om endringer i ekteskapsloven, barnelova, adopsjonsloven, bioteknologiloven mv. (felles ekteskapslov for heterofile og homofile par) - Lovdata . Lovdata.no . 2017-03-21.
  21. Web site: ASSEMBLEIA DA REPÚBLICA : Lei n.º 2/2016 . App.parlamento.pt . 2017-03-21.
  22. Web site: Confronting Homophobia in Europe . 2013-10-10 . 19 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170619223955/http://www.policy.hu/takacs/pdf-lib/Confronting_Homophobia_in_Europe-the_book.pdf . dead .
  23. Web site: First Adoption by Gay Partner of Child's Parent . 2017-02-26 . Sloveniatimes.com . 8 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190308190823/http://www.sloveniatimes.com/first-adoption-by-gay-partner-of-child-s-parent . dead .
  24. Web site: Documento BOE-A-2005-11364 . BOE.es . 2005-07-16 . 2017-03-21.
  25. News: BBC NEWS : Europe : Sweden legalises gay adoption. News.bbc.co.uk. 21 March 2017.
  26. https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/schweiz/ehe-fur-alle-bringt-volles-adoptionsrecht-ld.1025724 «Ehe für alle» bringt volles Adoptionsrecht
  27. Nationalratskommission will «Ehe für alle», Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 6 July 2018
  28. Web site: Adoption and Children Act 2002. Legislation.gov.uk. 21 March 2017.
  29. Web site: Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007. Legislation.gov.uk. 21 March 2017.
  30. Web site: The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (Commencement No. 4, Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2009. Legislation.gov.uk. 29 June 2015.
  31. Web site: Gay adoption: Northern Ireland ban lifted. BBC News. 29 June 2015.
  32. Web site: Civil Partnership Act 2011. Legislation.gov.im.
  33. Web site: Civil Partnership (Jersey) Law 2012. Jerseylaw.je. en-GB. 2017-07-12.
  34. Web site: Civil Partnership Act 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140407091751/http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/2014-10o.pdf. 2014-04-07. dead.
  35. Web site: Population Management Law 2016. Guernseylegalresources.gg.
  36. Web site: Adoption hope for same-sex couples - The Royal Gazette:Bermuda Court. Owain. Johnston-Barnes. The Royal Gazette. 5 February 2019.
  37. Web site: GayLawNet ®™ - Laws - Bermuda - BM. Gaylawnet.com. 5 February 2019.
  38. Web site: GayLawNet®™ - Laws - Pitcairn - PN. Gaylawnet.com. 5 February 2019. 23 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150623102922/https://www.gaylawnet.com/laws/pn.htm. dead.
  39. Web site: GayLawNet®™ - Laws - Falkland Islands - FK. Gaylawnet.com. 5 February 2019.
  40. News: Cassazione, sì alla stepchild adoption in casi particolari. 2016-06-22. Repubblica.it. 2017-07-12. it.
  41. Web site: ILGA Europe . Public opinion and same-sex unions (2003) . 29 January 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070208024705/http://www.ilga-europe.org/europe/issues/marriage_and_partnership/public_opinion_and_same_sex_unions_2003 . 8 February 2007 .
  42. Web site: V.М.А. vs. Stolichna obshtina, rayon ‘Pancharevo, Case C-490/20 . 2024-05-15 . European Court of Justice, Grand Chamber, curia.
  43. HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights (15 March 2012). "Gas and Dubois vs. France, Application no. 25951/07". European Court of Human Rights. Retrieved 2024-05-14
  44. https://www.fd.ulisboa.pt/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Codigo-Civil-Frances-French-Civil-Code-english-version.pdf Napoleonic Code, French Civil Code, English Translation
  45. Web site: Information Note on Gas and Dubois vs France . 2024-05-15 . HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights.

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