The Ukrainian court has for the first time recognized the factual marital relationship between two men.
This is the first such decision for Ukraine,
reported by the public organization "Insight", writes life.pravda.com.ua.
In June 2024, diplomat Zoryan Kisy was appointed First Secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel. The position implied that he would go on a long-term overseas assignment.
Zoryan wanted to take his partner Timur Levchuk with him as his husband, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine refused him. The department cited national legislation that defines marriage as only a union between a woman and a man.
Therefore, Zoryan Kisy filed a lawsuit to have the court recognize the de facto marital relationship between him and Timur Levchuk – living as a family without official legalization.
The men informed the court that they have been living as a family, as civil partners, since 2013, reports «Judicial and Legal Newspaper». In 2017, they held a civil marriage ceremony, and in 2021, they married in the United States of America, as evidenced by a corresponding US marriage certificate.
The procedure to prove the fact of living together as a family proved to be quite complex – witnesses were questioned in court, who stated that the men have been living together for a long time, sharing household chores, buying things and food together, purchasing a car, and generally being a full-fledged family.
Family photos of the men, photos from their wedding ceremony, airline tickets, and other documents were also examined in court.
The Desnianskyi District Court of the capital noted that although the Family Code of Ukraine indeed defines marriage as "a family union of a woman and a man registered with a civil registration authority," there are nuances.
Thus, Article 21 of the Constitution of Ukraine states that "All people are free and equal in dignity and rights."
And the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine from June 3, 1999, in case No. 5-rp/99 indicates that family members include persons who live together permanently and conduct a joint household.
That is, family members can be not only close relatives but also other persons who are not in direct kinship. A mandatory condition for recognizing them as family members is the fact of cohabitation, conducting a joint household, sharing expenses, purchasing property for joint use, participating in housing maintenance costs, etc.
Since the men have been living together for a long time, with documentary confirmation, the court established the presence of a shared household, typical of family life.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly stated that the state's refusal to recognize de facto marital relations between persons of the same sex violates their rights to respect for private and family life, guaranteed by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
"The ECtHR's legal position indicates that de facto marital relations between persons of the same sex can be recognized if there is evidence of cohabitation, joint household management, and mutual obligations and rights. This allows persons of the same sex to obtain legal protection of their family relations. Considering the above and that family and family relations belong to one of the most important areas of legal regulation, the court concluded that the applicant's claims are justified, supported by proper evidence, and should be granted," the decision of the Desnianskyi District Court of Kyiv from June 10 states.
Thus, the court established the fact of the men's cohabitation as a family and the existence of de facto marital relations between them. However, the court's decision can still be appealed to the Kyiv Court of Appeal.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ignored this court process.
