Governmental Council on Human Rights seeks to permit child adoption for registered couples

The Governmental Council on Human Rights is seeking to modify the act on same-sex partnerships to allow persons in registered partnerships to adopt children individually. The council announced its view after a meeting on Thursday that the current legal arrangement contravenes the constitution and perhaps EU law and should be repealed. As it stands, the Registered Partnerships Act does not allow persons in such partnerships to adopt. The Ministry of Human Rights however believes that this in effect entails a prohibition on individuals that is discriminatory as it is based on their sexual preference. The amendment of the act would not permit adoption on a partnership basis. The Registered Partnerships Act was passed in 2005 to allow same-sex couples many of the rights of marriage.