Overview of the results from the legal survey

This is chapter 2 of a report that offers a comparative analysis of legal and other data concerning same-sex (and different-sex) families, in marriage, in registered partnership, and in cohabitation. These data (from a legal survey among legal experts in 21 European countries, from sociological interviews with same-sex families in four European countries, and from a statistical survey of twelve European countries) have been brought together in the LawsAndFamilies Database – Aspects of legal family formats for same-sex and different-sex couples (www.LawsAndFamilies.eu). This chapter of the report presents and analyses the main results from the legal survey. For 26 selected substantive questions, it calculates the level of "same-sex legal recognition consensus" among the 21 countries. It finds that the consensus among the countries surveyed is particularly strong as regards legal protections for times of death (such as: tenancy continuation; reduced inheritance tax; survivor’s pension) or of other great sadness (such as: next of kin provisions; protection against domestic violence; leave from work in case the partner’s child or parent is in need of care); and as regards the right to come and live in the same country as your partner. For each of the 26 issues, the level on consensus has increased considerably over the last 10 years. For each of these 21 countries the degree is calculated in which they now legally recognise same-sex couples for these 26 issues. Among these 21 countries, over the last 10 years, the number of countries that recognise same-sex cohabitation has gone up from 71% to 86%, and the number of countries that introduced same-sex registered partnerships has gone up from 52% to 81%. Meanwhile the number of countries that allow same-sex marriage went up from 10% to 41%. The chapter finds many examples where a specific country on a specific issue does not meet the minimum standards that have been developed by the European Union and by the European Court of Human Rights. The report is available in open access at http://www.familiesandsocieties.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/WorkingPaper75.pdf.