ECONOMIC, FAMILY AND SOCIAL RIGHTS IN CIVIL PARTNERSHIP

Z namenom urediti in zaščititi istospolno partnersko skupnost je zakonodajalec leta 2005 sprejel Zakon o registraciji istospolne partnerske skupnosti /ZRIPS/. Menil je, da bi bilo najustrezneje, da jo uredi v institutu registracije partnerske skupnosti ter ločeno od družinskopravne zakonodaje, ki ureja položaj zakoncev in zunajzakonskih partnerjev. Nabor pravic in obveznosti, ki jih je zakonodajalec zagotovil, bi utegnil pripeljati do sklepa, da istospolna partnerska skupnost služi v največji meri zadovoljevanju čustvenih in ekonomskih potreb partnerjev, ne pa tudi družinskih in socialnih potreb. Zakonodajalec pri sprejemanju ZRIPS ni upošteval družbene realnosti, to je, da v Sloveniji obstajajo istospolne družine in da zato istospolna partnerja v partnerski skupnosti lahko uresničujeta tudi družinske potrebe. Pravno praznino, ki je zaradi tega zazevala na družinskopravnem področju, je bilo mogoče zapolniti v okviru veljavne zakonske ureditve. Da tudi istospolni partnerji gojijo željo po oblikovanju družine, ki vključuje otroke, je jasno. Ker je možnost starševstva istospolnih parov na eni strani omejena v reproduktivnem smislu, na drugi strani pa z zakonsko ureditvijo, ki velja v Sloveniji, se istospolni pari večkrat poslužujejo rešitev, ki so negotove in nevarne, zlasti z vidika koristi otrok. Področja socialnih pravic, razen nekaj izjem, ZRIPS ni posebej uredil. Tako je bila ureditev, ki zadeva socialne pravice, v večji meri prepuščena vsakokratnemu zakonskemu usklajevanju. Do danes se je položaj istospolnih partnerjev spremenil. Drži, da je obseg pravic, ki so istospolnim partnerjem zagotovljene, večji kot pred osmimi leti ob sprejetju ZRIPS. K temu so v veliki meri prispevali istospolno usmerjeni aktivisti, nevladne organizacije, pravni strokovnjaki, kot tudi slovenska sodišča. Kljub temu pa o polnopravnem dostopu istospolnih partnerjev glede ekonomskih, družinskih in socialnih pravic ne moremo govoriti. Zato postajajo vse glasnejše zahteve, da je zakonska ureditev potrebna prenove na način, ki bo k ureditvi pravnega položaja istospolnih partnerjev pristopil celoviteje in bolj sistematično. Pri tem ni zanemarljivo niti vse večje število sodb Evropskega sodišča za človekove pravice in Sodišča Evropske unije, iz katerih izhaja, da tudi istospolni pari uživajo pravico do zasebnega in družinskega življenja, ki so jo države dolžne spoštovati, ter da razlikovanje v obravnavanju na podlagi spolne usmerjenosti ni dopustno. Slednje je tudi Slovenija kot članica Sveta Evrope in Evropske unije dolžna vzeti v obzir. Jasno je, da je enakopravno obravnavanje oseb temeljni gradnik vsake demokratične družbe, zato se ne postavlja vprašanje, ali so istospolni pari upravičeni do polnopravnega obsega pravic, ampak le vprašanje časa, kdaj bodo politične elite uspele doseči konsenz o tem vprašanju.In 2005 the legislator passed the Registration of the Same-Sex Civil Partnership Act /ZRIPS/ in order to regulate and protect the same-sex partnership. The idea was that it would be the most appropriate if this is regulated in the institution of registration of partnership and separately from family code that regulates the status of spouses and cohabiting partners. The set of rights and obligations provided by the legislator might point to a conclusion that the same-sex partnership serves mostly for meeting the emotional and economic needs of partners but not the needs of a family or a society. The legislator has not taken into account the society’s reality when passing the law. The reality is that same-sex familys do exist in Slovenia and therefore same-sex partners also can exercise family needs in a partnership. The consequence of this is the legal void which could be fixed in the context of a valid legal system. It is without a doubt that same-sex partners also foster the desire to create a family that includes children. Because the option of parenthood is limited on one hand, in a reproductive sense, and because of the legal system valid in Slovenia on the other hand, same-sex couples are many times forced to pick out solutions that are risky and dangerous, especially from the view of the benefit of children on the other hand. The ZRIPS Act (Registration of the Same-Sex Civil Partnership Act) has not regulated the field of social rights separately, except in some individual cases. Therefore the regulation that concerns the social rights had to be harmonized with the law more or less every time a case like that occurred. Up to the present day the status of same-sex partners has changed. It is true, however, that the scale of provided rights for the same-sex partners is greater than eight years ago when the act was passed. The latter is the result of actions by gay and lesbian activists, non-governmental organisations, legal professionals as well as Slovenian courts. Despite the above the full legal access of same-sex partners concerning the access to the economic, family and social rights still does not exist. Therefore the demands to amend the legal system are getting greater and greater. The amendments should be done in a way to regulate the legal status of same-sex partners in a more comprehensive and in a more systematic way. We cannot, however, neglect the growing number of judgements by European Court of Human Rights based on which the same-sex couples also enjoy the right to private as well as family life that they are obliged to respect and the fact that differences in treatment based on person’s sexual orientation are not allowed. The latter should also be given consideration by Slovenia as the member of Council of Europe and European Union. It is also clear that equal treatment of persons is a foundation of every democratic society thereforeit is not a matter of whether same-sex couples are eligible to receive access to full scale of rights but a matter of time when the political elites will manage to reach a consensus on this issue