Referendum on the Definition of Marriage to be Held in Croatia

Croatian Parliament has decided that the referendum on the constitutional definition of marriage, put forward by the conservative initiative ‘In the Name of Family’, will take place in Croatia on 1 December 2013.

The Initiative, supported by the Catholic Church, is demanding that marriage be defined in the Constitution as a union between a man and a woman, and have collected 750 thousand signatures backing their cause, which leaves the Parliament under an obligation to stage a referendum. The Government is also putting forward a bill on lifetime partnership, which means equal legal rights for gay couples, only without the right to adopt children.

The question of the referendum, however, seems to be purely a political one, as gay couples are to be granted equal rights regardless of the results of the referendum. That said, pleads have been made for the Constitutional Court to decide on the validity of the referendum as such, with the ruling coalition considering legislation which would deem minority rights off limits for referendums, especially in the light of the petition for another referendum, that on the necessary percentage of a minority population for a municipality to have to implement bilingual signage, reports SEE.