The European Court of Justice, the EU’s top court has ruled that same-sex parents and their children must be recognised as a family in all member states.
In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the European Court of Justice said that if one country acknowledges a parental relationship with a child, then every member state should do the same in order to guarantee the child’s right to free movement.
The case came before the court after Bulgarian authorities refused to give a birth certificate to the newborn daughter of a same-sex couple on the basis that a child cannot have two mothers.
Two mothers at the European Court of Justice seek equality
Bulgarian Kalina Ivanova and British Gibraltar-born Jane Jones are both registered as the mothers of Sara, who was born in Spain in 2019.
But neither parents are of Spanish descent, meaning citizenship in that country is not allowed and under the British Nationality Act of 1981, Jones cannot transfer British citizenship to her daughter as she was born in Gibraltar.
Same-sex parents
On this basis, Ivanova requested Bulgarian citizenship for her child, which was subsequently rejected since same-sex marriages and partnerships and not legally recognised in Bulgaria.
As a result, Sara was left at risk of statelessness, with no access to citizenship, unable to leave her family’s country of residence, Spain, as well as no personal documents, therefore, limiting her access to education, healthcare and social security.
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