Gov't to submit new bill on civil unions

The government's new bill on registered partnership - to replace a new law recently vetoed by the Constitutional Court - could be submitted to parliament as early as mid-February next year, Justice Minister Tibor Draskovics told reporters on Monday.

The minister spoke following a meeting with representatives of Hungarian gay organisations, and said that the proposal would seek to provide more or less the same options as stipulated in the reversed act, the minister said.

On December 15, the Constitutional Court struck down the law to go into effect on January 1, 2009, effectively preventing promulgation.

The court said Hungary's constitution protects the institution of marriage and creating a registered partnership between a man and a woman would duplicate marriage.

The law, passed a year ago, treats relationships between heterosexuals and relationships between homosexuals the same way which essentially makes a registered partnership identical to a marriage, the court said.

However, a legislation establishing registered partnerships between same-sex couples would not be unconstitutional, the court found.

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