Lithuanian equality ombudswoman warns proposed family referendum may violate constitution

A proposed advisory referendum to define family in Lithuania’s constitution as solely based on marriage between a man and a woman could conflict with the country’s supreme legal document, the equality ombudswoman has warned.

Birutė Sabatauskaitė, head of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman’s Office, said the referendum’s wording risks violating constitutional protections of human rights, LRT reported on Tuesday. “Given how the draft decision on amending the concept of family is formulated, there is a risk it may contradict constitutional provisions as interpreted by the Constitutional Court, which has ruled that even constitutional amendments cannot weaken human rights protections,” she stated.

Sabatauskaitė emphasised that the constitution already defines family as the foundation of society and the state, obliging all institutions to protect it and provide support services. The current Article 38 states that “family is the basis of society and the state,” which the state must “support and protect,” and that marriage is a “free agreement between a man and a woman.”

Lawmakers in early April agreed to consider a proposal by a group of MPs to hold the advisory referendum alongside next year’s municipal elections. The draft resolution asks voters whether they support explicitly enshrining in the constitution that legal family relations arise “only from marriage between a man and a woman, motherhood, and fatherhood,” with a simple “Yes” or “No” choice.

The Seimas Legal Department has also raised concerns, stating the proposal “raises serious doubts about compliance with constitutional principles of the rule of law, the supremacy of the constitution, and responsible governance.” The Constitutional Court has previously ruled that the constitutional concept of family “cannot be derived solely from the institution of marriage.”

An advisory referendum is considered valid if more than half of eligible voters participate.