Recognition of same-sex unions in Serbia
Serbia currently does not have any form of legal recognition available for same-sex couples. Same-sex marriage was constitutionally banned in 2006 when a new constitution explicitly defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. History. In January 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave permission to the British embassy in Belgrade to conduct a British civil partnership ceremony between two British citizens or a British citizen and a non-Serbian national. The French embassy in Belgrade also offers civil solidarity pacts to French citizens and their foreign partners . In November 2015, former President Boris Tadić expressed his support for same-sex marriage and adoption. Constitutional wording. Article 62 of the Constitution of Serbia states: "Marriage shall be entered into based on the free consent of man and woman before the state body." Civil unions. In May 2013, it was announced that a draft law on same-sex partnerships would be introduced to the Serbian Parliament on 4 June. The law would allow hospital visitation and pension inheritance rights for same-sex partners, although it was not known whether this would be in the form of unregistered cohabitation or  registered partnership. The draft bill stalled and never reached a vote. In June 2019, plans were announced to legalise domestic partnerships between same-sex couples by amending the Civil Code, giving same-sex couples several legal rights, including joint property and alimony. However, they would not have been granted inheritance or adoption rights, nor undertaken surrogacy arrangements. In July 2019, a lesbian couple from the city of Novi Sad launched a legal challenge to win legal recognition for same-sex couples. The couple, Jelena Dubovi and Sunčica Kopunović, sought to register a civil partnership at a local municipal registrar's  office in April, but were rejected. In November 2020, Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, Gordana Comic, announced that a law on same-sex partnerships would be brought before parliament in the first half of 2021. The draft law was presented for public consultation in February 2021.