LGBTQI Families Fear «Legal Erasure» Under Ukraine’s New Civil Code

Proposed New Civil Code Sparks Fears Ukraine Is Drifting From EU Path

A political storm is brewing in Kyiv as a sweeping overhaul of Ukraine’s Civil Code threatens to derail the country’s EU ambitions and strip LGBTQI people of hard‑won legal protections.

The Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament is driving forward a new Civil Code intended to replace the Family Code entirely — a once‑in‑a‑generation rewrite of private law. Marketed as a modernisation aligned with European standards, the draft is instead being condemned by rights groups as a legal U‑turn that could put Ukraine on a collision course with Brussels.

A Reform That Sidesteps EU and ECHR Obligations

Despite promising to update outdated legislation, the draft fails to deliver on Ukraine’s long‑standing commitments to recognise same‑sex couples — a requirement under both the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU’s Rule of Law Roadmap for 2025. The European Court of Human Rights has already ruled in Maymulakhin and Markiv v. Ukraine that the state must provide legal recognition for same‑sex partnerships. Yet two civil partnership bills (№9103 and №12252) have been left gathering dust in Parliament for more than two years.

Instead of progress, the new Civil Code risks cementing discrimination into law.

Same‑Sex Families Written Out of the Law

The draft introduces «de facto family unions» — but restricts them exclusively to opposite‑sex couples. This move would wipe out existing court decisions that have already recognised same‑sex couples as families, stripping away the limited protections they currently have. Legal experts warn this would amount to a rollback unprecedented for a country seeking EU membership.

Trans People Face Fresh Legal Uncertainty

Another explosive provision would automatically invalidate marriages where one partner has legally changed their gender. Such a clause flies in the face of established ECtHR case law and would plunge trans people and their spouses into legal limbo.

Rights Groups Sound the Alarm

ILGA-Europe’s Advocacy Director, Katrin Hugendubel, issued a stark warning:

«This version of the draft Civil Code should not pass in its current form if Ukraine is serious about its path toward EU membership. It would roll back hard‑won protections, clash with Ukraine’s obligations under the ECHR and its EU accession commitments, and run counter to the commitments set out in the accession plan for recognising same‑sex partnerships»

She added that the draft would create «one of the most restrictive legal frameworks for same‑sex couples in the EU and the EU accession region», second only to Georgia’s recent anti‑LGBTI legislative turn — a scenario many fear could be replicated in Ukraine if Brussels does not intervene.

Calls for EU Action Grow Louder

Tania Kasian, Executive Director of Fulcrum UA, urged the European Commission to step in publicly, arguing that a strong response from Brussels could be decisive in halting what she described as a «dangerous initiative» threatening fundamental rights.

With Ukraine’s EU future hanging in the balance, campaigners say the message must be crystal clear: accession requires strengthening protections for LGBTQI families — not dismantling them.