US: Neither performed nor recognized in
some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and
American Samoa.
Israel: Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
EU: The Coman v. Romania ruling of the
European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of
EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
Cambodia: Recognition of a "declaration of family relationship", which may be useful in matters such as housing, but they are not legally binding.
China: Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
HK: Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
Liechtenstein has recognized same-sex
registered partnerships since 1 September 2011 following approval by voters in a
referendum. Liechtenstein was the second country in the world to pass a partnership law by referendum, after
Switzerland in 2005.
In November 2022, the
Landtag passed a motion calling on the government to introduce a bill legalizing
same-sex marriage, with broad support from across the political spectrum. On 11 August 2022, Prince
Alois said that same-sex marriage is "not a major problem",[1] and opinion polls show that a majority of the Liechtenstein public supports same-sex marriage.[2] A bill legalizing same-sex marriage passed its first reading on 8 March 2024 by a 24–1 vote.[3] It passed its final reading on 16 May 2024, and will come into effect on 1 January 2025.[4]
Registered partnerships
Background
On 19 November 2001, MP Paul Vogt from the
Free List submitted a
registered partnership initiative to the
Landtag of Liechtenstein, which after a long discussion referred it to the
Cabinet for its opinion. The goal of reducing
discrimination was undisputed; rather the kind of recognition and the timing compared to neighbouring countries were cause for discussion. On 15 April 2003, the Cabinet published its position on the matter; it compared the legal situation in Liechtenstein with
European countries with recognition of same-sex couples (e.g.
Germany had recently introduced
registered life partnerships), but also with neighbouring
Austria and
Switzerland, which had no legal recognition of same-sex couples at the time. As the Cabinet saw no urgent need and preferred to await developments in Austria and especially Switzerland, it recommended rejection.[5] On 14 May 2003, the Landtag discussed and rejected the initiative.
On 17 September 2007,
Amnesty International submitted a petition calling for the legal recognition of same-sex couples. A subsequent motion put forward in the Landtag by the Free List requesting that the Cabinet introduce a registered partnership law
similar to Switzerland's passed on 24 October 2007 with 19 representatives voting in favour and 6 voting against.[6][7]
In December 2009,
Justice MinisterAurelia Frick announced she would finalise a draft of the registered partnership bill by January 2010.[9][10] The draft was presented in April 2010.[11][12][13] After the consultation period for the bill finished on 16 July, a few items were amended as a result of the discussion. The bill was described as very similar to the
Austrian law passed in autumn 2009.[14] In August 2010,
PrinceAlois declared his support for the proposal.[15] On 23 November 2010, the Cabinet formulated the final version of the bill,[16][17] which was approved by Parliament in its
first reading on 16 December 2010.[18] It passed its second reading on 16 March 2011 in a 21–0 vote, and was published on 21 March as the Registered Partnership Act (
German: Partnerschaftsgesetz).[19][20]
a. Part of the VU-FBP Coalition under Prime Minister
Klaus Tschütscher.
b. Served as a substitute deputy for Günther Kranz in the afternoon session.
According to a report approved by the government in October 2022, the partnership law uses "gender-equitable formulations" in its general clauses and legal definitions, implying that both same-sex and opposite-sex couples can enter into registered partnerships under the current law.[23]
A group called Vox Populi ("Voice of the People") announced its intention to force a
referendum on the new law.[24][25] According to the
Constitution of Liechtenstein, the organization had until 21 April (30 days)[26] to collect at least 1,000 signatures.[27] As the necessary signatures were gathered (1,208 valid signatures), a referendum was held between 17 and 19 June 2011.[28][29] The registered partnership law was approved by 68.8 percent of those who voted and thus went into effect on 1 September 2011.[30][31]
By
municipality, the "Yes" vote received its largest support in
Planken (at 73.4%), followed by
Schaan (73.0%) and
Ruggell (72.4%), whereas the highest "No" vote was recorded in
Eschen (40.8%).[32]
In 2016, the Cabinet of Liechtenstein reformed family name law. Registered partners are now allowed to have a common family name; however, it is simply called "name" as opposed to "family name" for married couples, thus keeping a distinction. The reform was discussed in the Landtag on 4 March 2016 at first reading, and was approved in its second and final reading on 31 August 2016 by a vote of 25–0.[33][34][35][36] It was published in the official gazette on 3 November 2016 and took effect on 1 January 2017.[37][38][39]
Adoption rights
On 15 June 2021, the State Court of Liechtenstein (Staatsgerichtshof) ruled that registered partners should have the right to
adopt, and invalidated the sections of the 2011 partnership law which had forbidden such
adoptions. It gave Parliament one year to rectify the issue.[40] Following the court decision, the government drafted a bill granting same-sex couples the right to adopt their stepchildren (i.e.
stepchild adoption), which was passed on 6 May 2022. On that same day, Parliament narrowly rejected an amendment that would have excluded same-sex couples from access to joint adoption and
assisted reproductive technology.[41][42]
After a consultation period lasting from 6 July to 30 September 2022, the government passed a motion for full adoption equality for same-sex couples on 31 October 2022.[43][44][23][45] The proposal was discussed at first reading in the Landtag on 2 December 2022 and was passed in a 22 to 3 vote.[46][47][48] It was approved in its final reading on 2 March 2023.[49][50] The law received royal assent and went into effect on 1 June 2023.[51][52][53]
Statistics
11 registered partnerships were performed in the first two years following the entry into force of the new law, eight between two men and three between two women.[54] This made up 2.7% of all unions performed those two years. The number of registered partnerships performed in Liechtenstein per year is shown in the table below. The data is collected by the Office of Statistics (Amt für Statistik).[55][56][57][58]
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Total
Female
2
1
1
0
0
2
0
1
3
2
1
1
14
Male
4
4
2
0
1
1
4
1
3
3
5
1
29
Total
6
5
3
0
1
3
4
2
6
5
6
2
43
Same-sex marriage
Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in Europe¹
Marriage
Civil union
Limited domestic recognition (cohabitation)
Limited foreign recognition (residency rights)
Unrecognized
Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples
¹ May include recent laws or court decisions that have not yet entered into effect.
In 2018, a same-sex couple, Lukas Oehri and Dario Kleeb, were denied a
marriage license at the Civil Registry Office in
Vaduz. They filed suit in court, arguing that the same-sex marriage ban was a violation of the
European Convention on Human Rights and the
Constitution of Liechtenstein. The Administrative Court (VGH, Verwaltungsgerichtshof) ruled in the couple's favour, but the judgement was overturned on
appeal by the State Court (StGH, Staatsgerichtshof) in September 2019. The StGH ruled, in case 2018/154, that banning same-sex marriage was not unconstitutional. However, the court concluded that several provisions of the 2011 partnership law were discriminatory, notably its provisions prohibiting registered partners from adopting.[60] In response, the government announced it would evaluate the issue after "careful discussion". Eventually, legislation permitting same-sex registered partners to adopt went into effect in June 2023.
Passage of legislation in 2024
Following the
Swiss National Council's vote to legalize same-sex marriage on 11 June 2020, Amos Kaufmann from the LGBT group Flay expressed his hope that Liechtenstein would soon follow suit. The Liechtensteiner Vaterland newspaper wrote that the issue might "soon be on the political arena".[61][62] Minister of Social Affairs
Mauro Pedrazzini said he expected discussion on the issue to become quite present in the lead up to the
February 2021 parliamentary election. A spokesman for the
Pariotic Union (VU) said the party had "more pressing issues", but said they would follow the developments in Switzerland and take a formal decision later on. FBP party president Marcus Vogt said the party was still debating whether to take an official stance in support of same-sex marriage.[63] In an interview with Radio Liechtenstein in February 2021, Prince
Hans-Adam II expressed his support for same-sex marriage but said he opposed allowing same-sex couples to adopt.[64][65] During the February 2021 election campaign, over 80% of candidates for the
Landtag said they supported legalising same-sex marriage.[66] Following the election, the Liechtensteiner Vaterland reported that there was a "solid majority" in the Landtag to legalise same-sex marriage.[67] On 24 March 2021, the VU and the FBP signed a coalition agreement, with the government programme including the promise that "legal certainty for non-traditional family models will be improved".[68]
A survey conducted by the youth wing of the
Free List party, leading up to the 2021 general election, showed that the vast majority of elected representatives supported same-sex marriage, with the Free List, the FBP, and a large majority of the VU in support. The 2 members of the minor
Democrats for Liechtenstein party did not respond to the survey. 10 lawmakers were regarded as a "solid yes" vote,[a] 9 as a "likely yes" vote,[b] 3 as a "likely no" vote,[c] and 1 as a "solid no" vote.[d] Out of the 10 elected substitute members (who serve as substitute representatives in the event that an
MP cannot attend a parliamentary session), 8 of them responded to the survey, with 5 regarded as a "solid yes" vote,[e] 2 as a "likely yes" vote,[f] and 1 as a "likely no" vote.[g][69] On 29 September 2021, the Landtag held a debate in which the majority of political parties broadly agreed that same-sex marriage should be legalized. It called for a
public consultation process before legislating on the issue.[70] On 11 August 2022, Prince Alois said that same-sex marriage is "not a major problem".[1] On 21 September 2022, a motion calling on the government to introduce a bill legalizing same-sex marriage was submitted to the Landtag by 15 out of the 25 sitting members.[h][71][72][73] The motion was discussed in the plenary session on 2 November 2022, and was passed by a 23–2 vote.[74][75][76]
b. Served as a substitute deputy for
Mario Wohlwend throughout the plenary legislative session.
Protesting the passage of the motion,
Archbishop of VaduzWolfgang Haas announced in December 2022 that he would cancel a
Mass traditionally held on
New Year's Day at the opening session of Parliament. Haas said same-sex marriage "runs counter to natural sensibility, to natural law in accordance with reason and, in particular, to the Christian concept of the human being."[78]
On 11 July 2023, the government adopted a consultation report regarding proposed changes to three existing laws as part of the motion's implementation: the Marriage Act, the Partnership Act, and the Personal and Company Act. The consultation period ended on 10 October 2023.[79][80][81] In August 2023, Prime Minister
Daniel Risch said that the legalization of same-sex marriage "should be coming very soon".[82] On 6 February 2024, the government adopted the results of the consultation report along with the proposal regarding the amendment of the three aforementioned laws. Under the proposal, no new registered partnerships would be established in Liechtenstein, although existing ones would continue to be recognised and could be converted into marriage via a simple procedure.[83][84][85] The bill passed its first reading on 8 March 2024 with 24 votes in favor and one against.[86][87][88][89] A final vote on the legislation took place on 16 May, where the bill passed 24–1.[90][91][92] It awaits Prince Alois' signature.[93] Opponents may force a referendum on the law, which would require collecting 1,000 signatures within 30 days after the bill's publication in the Landesgesetzblatt. The law is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2025.[94][4][95]
b. Served as a substitute deputy for
Peter Frick throughout the plenary legislative session.
Public opinion
In June 2017, following the approval of a same-sex marriage law by the German
Bundestag, the Liechtensteiner Vaterland commissioned an online opinion poll wherein it asked its readers whether they support or oppose the legalisation of same-sex marriages in Liechtenstein. 55% answered "yes and as quickly as possible" and another 14% answered "yes" but were opposed to or had difficulties supporting adoption by same-sex spouses. 27% opposed same-sex marriage, while the remaining 4% were undecided or indifferent.[97]
A poll conducted in February 2021 by the
Liechtenstein Institute showed that a majority of voters from each political party answered positively when asked "Should same-sex couples have the same rights as heterosexual couples in all areas?".[2] In total, 72% of voters supported same-sex marriage (48% "Yes", 24% "Rather Yes") and 28% opposed (14% "No", 14% "Rather No"). Voters from the Free List were the most supportive (96% in favour, 4% opposed), followed by voters from the Progressive Citizens' Party (74% in favour, 27% opposed), the Patriotic Union (68% in favour, 32% opposed), independents (65% in favour, 35% opposed) and the Democrats for Liechtenstein (55% in favour, 45% opposed).
^FBP (4; Franziska Hoop, Johannes Kaiser, Daniel Oehry, and Daniel Seger), VU (3; Dagmar Bühler-Nigsch, Walter Frick, and Norma Heidegger), and FL (3; Manuela Haldner-Schierscher, Georg Kaufmann, and Patrick Risch)
^FBP (5; Wendelin Lampert,
Bettina Petzold-Mähr, Sascha Quaderer, Sebastian Schädler, and Karin Zech-Hoop), and VU (4; Dietmar Lampert, Gunilla Marxer-Kranz, Thomas Vogt, and Mario Wohlwend)
^FBP (1; Albert Frick, although he is one of the 15 signatories to a pending motion to open civil marriage to same-sex couples), and VU (2; Peter Frick and Günter Vogt)
^The 15 members were Dagmar Bühler-Nigsch (VU),
Albert Frick (FBP), Sebastian Gassner (FBP),
Manuela Haldner-Schierscher (FL), Norma Heidegger (VU), Franziska Hoop (FBP), Johannes Kaiser (FBP), Georg Kaufmann (FL), Wendelin Lampert (FBP), Daniel Oehry (FBP), Bettina Petzold-Mähr (FBP), Sascha Quaderer (FBP), Patrick Risch (FL), Daniel Seger (FBP), and Karin Zech-Hoop (FBP), representing all members of the FBP (10) and the FL (3), along with 2 members of the VU.
^"Koalitionsvertrag unterzeichnet" (in German). vu-online.li. 24 March 2021. Gesellschaft - "Die Rechtssicherheit für nicht-traditionelle Familienmodelle wird verbessert"