Romania’s Chamber of Deputies debates initiative aiming to change family definition
The Judiciary Committee of the Chamber of Deputies voted in favor of a citizen initiative aiming to change the definition of the family in Romania’s Constitution, on Tuesday, March 7.
At present, the Constitution defines the family as the free-willed marriage “between spouses” but the Coalition for Family, a local civic movement behind this initiative, wants to change it to the free-willed marriage “between a man and a woman.”
The Coalition for Family, which comprises 34 local NGOs and associations, gathered three million signatures in support of this initiative last year. Romania’s Orthodox Church has largely supported this project, which would block same-sex marriages.
According to the Constitution, a project or proposal to revise the country's fundamental law needs to be adopted by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate with a majority of at least two thirds of the members of each chamber, Adevarul writes. If a mediation procedure leads to no agreement, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate decide, in a joint session, based on the vote of at least three quarters of the numbers of MPs. Such a revision is final after it is approved through a referendum, organized within at most 30 days since the revision proposal is adopted.
Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), said at the end of January he wanted to organize a referendum on the definition of the traditional family in Romania’s Constitution. He was reacting to president Klaus Iohannis call for a referendum on justice, asking Romanians if they want the fight against corruption to continue.
The National Liberal Party filed an amendment to the initiative of the Coalition for Family, which eliminated the condition that a family is based on marriage but stipulated that a marriage is contracted between a man and a woman. However, the Judiciary Committee rejected the liberals' amendment and kept the form suggested by the Coalition for Family.
A separate draft law currently under debate in the Chamber of Deputies aims to define civil partnership. The law was rejected by the Senate last year, but the Chamber has the decisive vote on this matter. Two committees issued favorable opinions on this bill, but the Judiciary Committee hasn't discussed it yet. The Romanian Orthodox Church and other religious organizations strongly oppose this bill, which would legalize families outside marriage and may also open the way for same-sex families in Romania.
People living in civil partnership currently have no legal rights in Romania. Thus, when one of the partners dies, for example, the other partner doesn't have any of the rights a family member has.
Romanian SocDem leader wants referendums on traditional family and politicians’ immunity
editor@romania-insider.com
