Recognition of same-sex unions in Armenia

Armenia does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions. The legal status of foreign same-sex marriages is unclear. On 3 July 2017, the Ministry of Justice reportedly stated that all marriages performed abroad are valid in Armenia, including marriages between people of the same sex. Article 143 of the Armenian Family Code states that Armenia recognizes foreign marriages as long as they conform with the legality of the territory where they were performed and contains no explicit prohibition of same-sex marriages. On the other hand, article 152 restricts the application of foreign law incompatible with the domestic public order. As of 2023, no instances of foreign same-sex marriage registrations are known. In 2019, Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan said that the government does not recognize same-sex marriages. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Following a 2015 referendum, the Constitution of Armenia has generally been believed to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, although the Constitutional Court has never confirmed or rejected this interpretation. ^{[5] [6]}

Legal history

Background

Same-sex marriage (Armenian : Նույնասեռ ամուսնություն, nuynaseṙ amusnutʿyun, pronounced [nujnɑˈsɛr,-sɛɾɑmusnuˈtʰjun,-tʰʏn] ) is not legal in Armenia and there is little public debate surrounding the issue. The Government of Armenia has close ties with the Armenian Apostolic Church, which opposes same-sex marriage. In August 2019, the Minister of Justice, Rustam Badasyan, said that Armenia does not recognize same-sex marriages "despite Armenia signing the Istanbul Convention". However, Badasyan also stated that same-sex cohabitation is permitted and that violence against any person is "unacceptable". ^{[7] [8] [9]} Civil unions, which would offer some of the rights and benefits of marriage, are also not recognized. However, Armenia is obliged under the European Court of Human Rights' ruling in Fedotova and Others v. Russia to provide legal recognition to same-sex unions. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees a right to private and family life, places a positive obligation on all member states of the Council of Europe to recognize same-sex partnerships. ^{[10] [11]}

In 2006, a same-sex couple celebrated an informal wedding ceremony at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Vagharshapat. ^{[12] [13]} An article published about this improvised marriage in the "168 Zham" (168 Hours) newspaper provoked a scandal and indignation of local conservative media outlets, politicians and religious officials. ^[14]

In December 2017, Father Vazken Movsesian, serving in the Diocese of the West of the Apostolic Church, based in California, expressed his personal support for same-sex marriage, becoming one of the most high-profile supporters of same-sex marriage in the church. In an interview with Equality Armenia, Movsesian likened the historic persecution of Armenians by Turkey to the persecution faced by LGBT people. "We've been persecuted because we were not accepted, because we were different. As an Armenian Christian, how can I possibly close my eyes to what's going on in the world? And it's not just in Armenia, just everywhere, this intolerance.", he said. ^[4]

Legal restrictions

Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in Europe¹

  Marriage

  Civil union

  Limited domestic recognition (cohabitation)

  Limited foreign recognition (residency rights)

  Unrecognized

  Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples

¹ May include recent laws or court decisions that have not yet entered into effect.

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Family Code

Article 10 of the Family Code, adopted in 2004, states that marriage requires "the mutual voluntary consent of a man and a woman". Article 11, which lists several outlawed marriages (including bigamy, marriages between close relatives and marriages between adopters and adopted), does not contain explicit prohibitions on marriages between people of the same sex. ^[15]

On 18 October 2017, Deputy Tigran Urikhanyan of the Prosperous Armenia party proposed a bill to introduce an explicit ban on same-sex marriages in the Family Code. ^[16] On 15 November 2018, the Armenian Government expressed its opposition to the bill, stating that the Family Code already prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriages. "Armenia's Constitution already defines that marriage is possible only between woman and man. Besides, according to Family Code marriage is possible in case of reciprocal consent of a man and a woman and in case they are 18 years old [ sic ]", said Arsen Manukyan, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs. ^{[17] [18] [19]} The National Assembly rejected the bill in November 2019, labelling it "redundant", while also rejecting a bill which would have explicitly banned adoption by same-sex couples. ^[20]

Constitutional amendment

The Constitution of Armenia was amended in a referendum in 2015 to read: ^{[21] [5]}

Article 35. Freedom to Marry

1. A woman and a man having attained the marriageable age shall have the right to marry and form a family with free expression of their will. The marriageable age and the procedure for marriage and divorce shall be prescribed by law.
2. A woman and a man are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

3. Freedom to marry may be restricted only by law with the aim of protecting health and morals.

Many politicians have stated that the constitutional wording bans same-sex marriage. ^{[22] [23]} On the other hand, members of the Venice Commission, when analyzing the draft constitution, said that the wording "should not be interpreted as a legal obstacle to the recognition of same-sex marriages". Argam Stepanyan, the head of the Civil Status Acts Registration Agency, a division of the Ministry of Justice, later said in an interview that there is no constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage in Armenia. ^[24] Several politicians and human rights activists have said that the wording "notes" the right of a man and a woman to marry, but does not explicitly state that marriage is between a man and a woman. ^[25]

Recognition of marriages performed abroad

On 3 July 2017, the Ministry of Justice reportedly stated that all marriages performed abroad are valid in Armenia, including marriages between people of the same sex. According to the Family Code, marriages between Armenian citizens and those between Armenian citizens and foreigners or stateless persons, which have been registered outside Armenia, are valid inside the country after consular legalization. The code makes no reference to the sexes of the married spouses and stipulates that marriages registered in another country, which are in line with that particular state's legislation, are valid in Armenia as long as they are also compliant with the Armenian public order. ^{[3] [26] [4] [27]} As of 2023, the Statistical Committee of Armenia has not documented a single case of recognition of a foreign same-sex marriage. ^[28] It is not known if recognition would give such couples all the rights of marriage under domestic law.

Public opinion

A 2017 poll from the Pew Research Center showed that 91% of Armenians favored the Apostolic Church's position of not performing same-sex marriages, while 4% disagreed. ^[29]

See also

• LGBT portal
• Society portal

• Human rights in Armenia
• LGBT rights in Armenia
• Pink Armenia
• Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe
• Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia
• Right Side NGO

References

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2. "ԸՆՏԱՆԵԿԱՆ ՕՐԵՆՍԳԻՐՔ". Article Հոդված 143. Հայաստանի Հանրապետության տարածքից դուրս կնքված ամուսնությունների ճանաչումը, Act of 2005 (in Armenian).
3. "Same-sex marriages registered abroad are valid in Armenia". www.panarmenian.net.
4. "Father Vazken Movsesian Joins Equality Armenia Board". Asbarez. November 28, 2017.
5. "Legislation: National Assemly of RA". www.parliament.am.
6. Human Rights Situation in Armenia 2015 was a regressive year for LGBT people's rights in Armenia, since the newly accepted Constitution restricted marriage as a union only between a man and a woman
7. "Глава Минюста Армении исключил, что государство признает однополые браки после рати". Panorama (in Russian). 26 August 2019.
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9. "Gap analysis of Armenian criminal law in light of the standards established by the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence". rm.coe.int. 28 October 2023.
10. "ECtHR: refusal of any form of legal recognition and protection for same-sex couples breaches Convention". EU Law Live. 17 January 2023.
11. Fedele, Giulio (23 July 2021). "The (Gay) Elephant in the Room: Is there a Positive Obligation to Legally Recognise Same-Sex Unions after Fedotova v. Russia?". EJIL: Talk!. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
12. ""Love and Loyalty": Marriage in secret, in an environment of fear - Features - ArmeniaNow.com" . Retrieved 23 August 2015.
13. "GAYRUSSIA - Равные права без компромиссов" . Retrieved 23 August 2015.
14. "GAYRUSSIA - Равные права без компромиссов". Archived from the original on 2 December 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
15. "ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆԻ ՀԱՆՐԱՊԵՏՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԸՆՏԱՆԵԿԱՆ". arlis.am (in Armenian).
16. "Tsarukyan faction lawmaker introduces bill on banning same-sex marriages in Armenia". Aysor.am. 18 October 2018.
17. "Armenia's legislation already bans same-sex marriages, no additional changes necessary: acting deputy minister". Aysor.am. 15 November 2018.
18. "Armenia Cabinet rejects initiative on same-sex marriages". Armenia News. 15 November 2018.
19. "Cabinet rejects bill on banning same-sex marriage citing existing prohibition in Constitution". Armenpress . 15 November 2018.
20. Khulian, Artak (12 November 2019). "Armenian Parliament Refuses To Hear Bill Banning Same-Sex Marriage". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
21. "Constitution of Armenia". president.am.
22. ""Менее равные": ЛГБТИ-правозащитники в Армении, Беларуси, Казахстане и Кыргызстане" (PDF). Amnesty International (in Russian). p. 75.
23. "Armenian Constitution to ban same-sex marriage". Radio Liberty. 4 September 2015.
24. "Европейские эксперты считают, что однополые браки в Армении можно разрешить". ИА REGNUM (in Russian). 27 August 2015.
25. "The Ministry of Justice's response on same-sex marriage". LGBTnews.am. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019.
26. Dawn Ennis (December 5, 2017). "Orthodox Christian Cleric Supports Same-Sex Marriage in Armenia". Los Angeles Blade.
27. "Armenia Recognizes Same-Sex Marriages Performed Abroad". NewNowNext.com. 4 July 2017.
28. Vic Gerami (2019-02-19). "'You have no right to call yourself Armenian' Say Gay Man's Attackers". The Armenian Weekly. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
29. "Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe" (PDF). Pew. Retrieved 11 May 2017.