Kosovo does not recognize
civil unions (, ; , , ) which would offer same-sex couples some of the rights, benefits and obligations of
marriage. Despite not being a
member state of the
Council of Europe, Kosovo is
de facto under the jurisdiction of the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In January 2023, the
Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled in
Fedotova and Others v. Russia that
Article 8 of the
European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees a right to private and family life, imposes a
positive obligation on all member states of the Council of Europe to establish a legal framework recognizing same-sex partnerships. The court later issued similar rulings with respect to
Poland in
Przybyszewska and Others,
Romania in
Buhuceanu and Others,
Bulgaria in
Koilova and Babulkova, and
Ukraine in
Maymulakhin and Markiv. On 7 July 2020,
Minister of Justice Selim Selimi announced that the
government planned to introduce a new civil code "within a few months" that would legalize same-sex civil partnerships. The move was criticised by some LGBT rights groups because it entrenched a legal distinction between opposite-sex and same-sex couples. If the civil code had been passed, an additional law detailing the rights, benefits and obligations of civil partners would have been required. The draft was rejected at
first reading by the
Assembly on 16 March 2022 in a 28–29 vote with 4 abstentions. On 25 April 2024,
Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced his government's intention to legalize same-sex unions. "Kosovo will make an effort to soon become the second country in the Western Balkans, after
Montenegro, which guarantees its citizens the right to a same-sex life partnership. We will work hard to pass this in the near future", said Kurti, who also announced his government's intention to meet the rights and needs of the
Serbian minority. Several Muslim and Christian denominations publicly called on the government to reject a new civil code recognising same-sex unions, incorrectly stating that the new code would legalise same-sex marriage. However, the code would only recognise civil unions. ==Same-sex marriage==