In 2003, following the recommendations, directives and negotiations with the European Union for accession, Bulgaria has made tremendous efforts to align its legislation regarding sexual minorities to the European norms and standards.
The first step in this juridical 'emancipation' of the Bulgarian legislation was to change discriminatory provisions with regard to sexual minorities, under quite a strong pressure coming from BGO Gemini and European institutions, such as the European Commission and the European Parliament.
In September 2002 the Bulgarian Parliament repealed several provisions, including one prohibiting homosexual acts committed `in public or in a scandalous way or in such a manner as to induce others along the road to perversion`. Initial reports indicated Bulgaria's September law reforms had resulted in the repeal of all significant discriminatory aspects of the criminal law, a position which the European Commission endorsed in its report for Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian Law on the Protection against Discrimination came into force on January 1. It bans all forms of negative discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation. The Law outlines direct or indirect discrimination, harassment and victimization. Gemini took active part in the working group that drafted the Bulgarian Law for protection against discrimination.
The Act for Protection against Discrimination, forced on January 1, 2004, transposing the requirement of several EU Directives, marks one step forward in Bulgaria's accession in EU. Acknowledged as one of the most progressive in Europe, this Act bans discrimination on a number of grounds, including race, sex, religion, disability, age and sexual orientation and it provides protection of the LGBT people from discrimination. In order this new Act to be effective, the Commission for Protection against discrimination have to become operative without any delay (the deadline was March 31, 2004 but yet no one of its 9 members has been elected). Since BGO Gemini's PR campaign for promotion of the new Act started in January 2004, the number of cases of harassment, indirect and direct discrimination reported to Gemini has increased and it is considerable that those are only the "top of the iceberg". The lack of trust in the police and the legal system prevents reporting of such cases. No further steps have been taken on behalf of the government, no raise awareness campaigns, and no actions to prevent the discrimination, not enough clarity concerning the commission, supposed to work on such issues. The NGO sector is seriously concerned about the future implementation of this Act.
There are no provisions in the Bulgarian legislation regarding registered partnership both for heterosexual and for homosexual couples. Cohabitation is not a legal basis for inheritance, since partners are not included in the legal circle of heirs. Therefore, cohabitating partners may inherit from one another only when there is a last will statement, and not on the basis of their relationship. Cohabitating partners inheriting through a will have no right to a preserve part of the estate. Cohabitating partners have no parental rights over the children of the other partner. It is possible, however, for one partner to legally adopt the other's biological children. It is not possible for cohabitating couples to adopt children, since the law requires the adoptive couples to be legally registered as married. There are no political trends toward adopting any changes in partnership/family law towards legal recognition of same-sex partnerships. Same-sex partners are not allowed to legalize their relationships, have no patrimonial rights or the right to adopt children and no right for hospital visitation of their partner.
Although the Supreme Court has long accepted that de facto spousal cohabitation is a basis for seeking non-material damages in cases of one partner's death, there is still no case on complaints filed by same-sex partners.
Artificial insemination is available in some clinics in Bulgaria. However, it is usually accessible only to married heterosexual women. Ministry of Health Regulation 12 of 1987 sets out that women can be inseminated with seed from their husbands or from a third person only if the husband's seed is not fertile.
There are no special asylum or immigration rights in Bulgaria for gays or lesbians.
Author: Desislava Petrova, BGO Gemini
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