A top court in Slovenia ruled that imposing bans on same-sex couples getting married and adopting children is unconstitutional and has ordered its parliament to amend the law within six months.
Constitutional court judges ruled 6-3 on both issues in question on Friday (8 July), saying that Slovenia’s current laws allowing only opposite-sex marriages and adoptions violeted a constitutional prohibition against discrimination.
Discrimination against same-sex couples “cannot be justified with the traditional meaning of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, nor with special protection of family,” the ruling stated according to the Slovenian Press Agency.
The ruling makes Slovenia the 18th country in Europe and 31st worldwide to legalise same-sex marriage. It also makes it the first country of former Yugoslavia to legalise same-sex marriage.