Lithuania’s justice ministry appeals court ruling allowing same-sex partnership registration

The Lithuanian justice ministry has filed an appeal against a lower court’s decision to register a same-sex partnership, arguing that such registrations exceed judicial authority in the absence of a dedicated law, LRT reports.

The ministry submitted its appeal to the Vilnius Regional Court in mid-March, requesting a review of whether the district court overstepped its powers by recognising the partnership before parliament has adopted regulating legislation.

“Our legal experts see no other way [to register partnerships], and the Constitutional Court has not ruled otherwise—only the procedure set by law applies, as defined in the Civil Code,” Justice Minister Rita Tamašunienė told BNS on Tuesday. “Neither I as minister nor the Centre of Registers can implement this court ruling without a law.”

She added that the ministry hopes the higher court will clarify the matter, which will determine how the government proceeds with future partnership registrations. “We are not seeing new court petitions at the moment, but we want to await this specific ruling before deciding further steps,” Tamašunienė said.

The appeal follows a landmark 2023 Constitutional Court ruling that declared the Civil Code’s definition of partnership—limited to opposite-sex couples—as unconstitutional. The court opened the door for gender-neutral partnerships to be registered through courts until parliament establishes a permanent legal framework.

Under that ruling, Vilnius District Court recognised Lithuania’s first same-sex partnership last August. However, Tamašunienė argued that while general courts may establish the fact of a partnership, ordering administrative registration “perhaps slightly exceeds their competence,” as that falls under administrative courts’ jurisdiction.

Former MP Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius, a vocal advocate for partnership rights, accused the ministry of “dragging its feet” on implementing the Constitutional Court’s decision. In a Facebook post, he called the appeal a “political decision” driven by “ideological radicals” and dismissed the ministry’s argument about lacking legislation as “theatre of the absurd,” noting the government itself holds legislative initiative.

“Every poorly drafted appeal of yours will be defeated in court,” Raskevičius wrote, pledging to “restore the constitutional space for all Lithuanian families, without exception.”

Previous attempts to legalise partnerships via the Civil Code—including a cross-party draft by social democrats, liberals, and conservatives last autumn—have repeatedly stalled in parliament.