Since 1 January 2016, Estonia has recognised same-sex unions by allowing same-sex couples to sign a cohabitation agreement. In addition, following a December 2016 court ruling, same-sex marriages performed abroad are recognised in Estonia.
Contents
History
In December 2005, the launch of a new family law bill by the Estonian Ministry of Justice, explicitly defining marriage to be a union of a man and a woman, initiated a public debate on the issue of recognition of same-sex unions. The public debate was called by the Ministry of Social Affairs, which expressed reservations about the draft law.
The public debate attracted a significant response from LGBT rights groups, who opposed the family law bill and urged the Government not to discriminate between same-sex and opposite-sex couples in marriage, stating that, "We call on the government to drop a clause in the draft law on the family, which does not allow the registration of same-sex marriages or partnerships". On 4 January 2006, five Estonian NGOs supporting LGBT rights issued a press release asking for the Government to draft a new partnership law to give same-sex couples equal rights with opposite-sex couples.
On the other hand, a number of conservative politicians claimed that Estonia was not yet ready for same-sex marriage, and that there was no need to create a separate law on same-sex unions since existing laws already implied the protection of some of these unions, despite not mentioning same-sex unions explicitly. Väino Linde, the chief of the Constitution Commission of the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament), stated that he was "glad to see the conservative views in the Parliament and in the Commission of Constitution".
As of 2005, the Social Democratic Party was the only political party to publicly affirm its support for same-sex marriage. The Centre Party and the Reform Party said that they would tolerate such a law. Various right-wing parties, particularly the Res Publica and Pro Patria Union, stated their opposition to same-sex marriage.
Cohabitation agreement
In July 2008, the Ministry of Justice announced that it was drafting a law on registered partnerships for same-sex couples. The law, initially expected to come into force in 2009, was intended to provide a number of rights for same-sex couples, such as inheritance and shared property ownership. The law had the support of most parties in Estonia's Parliament.
The Ministry of Justice studied proposals for the registration of unmarried couples, including same-sex couples. A comprehensive report was released in July 2009 examining three options: the recognition of unregistered cohabitation; the creation of a partnership registry; and the extension of marriage to same-sex couples. It left the decision over which model to implement to the legislature and other "stakeholders". On 1 July 2010 a new family law was passed, defining marriage as between a man and a woman and declaring unions between members of the same sex "null and void". Prime Minister Andrus Ansip was quoted as saying, "I do not believe that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will soon accept same-sex marriage in the eyes of the law".
On 25 May 2011, Chancellor of Justice Indrek Teder requested that the Ministry of Justice introduce a civil partnership law. He ruled that the non-recognition of same-sex relationships was contrary to the Constitution of Estonia. Thereafter partnership law again became an active political discussion in Estonia.
The Reform Party and the Social Democratic Party supported introducing a partnership law, against the opposition of conservative Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (now united). The Centre Party supported a discussion on the issue. The bill was drafted in August 2012 by the Minister of Justice and was under consultation until 1 October 2012. In March 2014, a parliamentary group began to work on a draft bill to regulate the legal status of cohabiting couples. The bill was submitted to Parliament on 17 April 2014. On May 22, the bill was backed by the Government. On 19 June 2014, Parliament rejected a motion to kill the bill at the first reading, in a 32-45 vote. The second reading took place on October 8, where a motion to hold a referendum on the bill was defeated in a 35-42 vote and another motion to kill the bill was defeated in a 41-33 vote. The bill passed its final vote on October 9 in a 40-38 vote. It was signed by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves the same day and took effect on 1 January 2016.
Some implementing acts have yet to be passed in order for the law to enter into force in 2016. These require 51 of 101 MPs to be in favour. Following the March 2015 elections, the conservative Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL) joined the Government. The party's position is that these acts have to be worked out in Parliament rather than by the Government, causing disagreement with the Reform Party and Social Democrats. On 25 November 2015, Parliament rejected a motion to kill the implementing bill at the first reading, in a 41-42 vote. On December 10, the chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee announced that the committee would not finish the work of the bill and ask Parliament to begin the second reading before December 17, when Parliament adjourned for the holidays until 11 January the next year. This meant that the Cohabitation Act would take effect without implementing measures, causing a number of legal loopholes and problems. Further readings were scheduled for the end of January 2016. In August 2016, a same-sex couple filed a lawsuit before the Administrative Court of Estonia in order to be able to enter a cohabitation agreement. As of October 2016, the implementing measures have yet to be passed by Parliament.
In January 2017, the Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament, Jaanus Karilaid (Centre Party), declared that the implementing acts for the registered partnership law would likely not be adopted in the current term of Parliament. Karilaid argued that to pass these laws would "only result in new confrontations". At the same time, Karilaid suggested that Parliament did not have the numbers to repeal the underlying registered partnership law.
Same-sex marriage
The first same-sex marriage was recognised by a court in December 2016. The couple, two men who had originally married in Sweden but now reside in Estonia, had their marriage officially registered in late January 2017. Initially, a court in Harju County refused to register their marriage. The couple later appealed the decision. In December, the Tallinn Circuit Court ruled that all marriages concluded in another country must be entered into the Estonian population register when a person takes up residence in Estonia or is granted Estonian citizenship.
Public opinion
A poll conducted in June 2009 showed that 32% of Estonians believed that same-sex couples should have the same legal rights as opposite-sex couples. Support was 40% among young people, but only 6% among older people.
A poll conducted in September 2012 found that 34% of Estonians supported same-sex marriage and 46% supported registered partnerships. The poll found an ethnic divide: while 51% of ethnic Estonians supported registered partnerships, only 35% of ethnic Russians were of the same view.
The 2015 Eurobarometer found that 31% of Estonians thought that same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, 58% were against.