Same-Sex Unions Within the Current Regulatory Framework of Serbian Private International Law

Abstract

Recent introduction of fully-fledged homosexual marriages in certain countries like the Netherlands and Belgium have opened a range of issues which appear difficult to solve. This difficulty is, at least in case of Serbian law, compounded by inadequacy of existing regulation. While it is obvious that it would be impossible to, say, arrange a homosexual wedding in Serbia, grounding such contention in some clear-cut Serbian legislation appears to be a much harder task. This is due to the fact that relevant provisions of Serbian laws appear unclear or contradicting when they have to deal with homosexual marriages. While one should not doubt that Serbian legal system, as is, will reject homosexual marriages, it is impossible not to note the alarming level of legal insecurity surrounding relevant regulation. Unlikely explanations often appear to be the only way out, while technicalities are often more important than substance. While some of the problems have been solved through adoption of the new Serbian Constitution at the end of 2006, other can only be addressed through amendment of the PIL code.

Keywords: applicable law, homosexual marriages, mandatory rules, ordre public, private international law, Serbia, recognition of foreign marriages

JEL Classification: K19, K30