On Tuesday, February 1, the new Family Code came into effect in Slovenia, making the country the first in Eastern Europe to officially legalise same-sex marriage.

Last October, with a vote of 48 to 29, the Slovenian parliament passed an amendment to the Family Code, which previously defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The vote came after the highest court in Slovenia ruled in July 2022 that the Family Code was discriminatory against LGBTQ+ couples and thus declared it unconstitutional. With the ruling, the court also legalised adoptions for same-sex couples and established that the government had six months to amend the legislation.

Now the amended Family Code has officially come into effect in Slovenia, finally legalising same-sex marriage in the country. Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar reacted to the news by saying: “Human rights are neither left nor right. They are universal and we all have them.”

Today is an important day. By providing same-sex marriage with the same rights as heterosexual marriage, Slovenia 🇸🇮 is joining the most progressive and open democracies in the world. pic.twitter.com/UmgedkxcB9

— Slovenian Government (@govSlovenia) January 31, 2023

“Above all, they are never taken for granted, you have to fight for them every day,” the President continued. “As societies develop, so does human rights law, which breaks down prejudices and applies to everyone.”

“That is why I am happy and proud that today in Slovenia we are on the path of fully equalising the rights of same-sex partners with the rights of heterosexual couples in terms of the possibility of entering into marriage and jointly adopting a child,” Pirc Musar concluded.

🏳️‍🌈 Slovenia is now officially recognising same-sex marriages, becoming the first Eastern European and Balkan country to do so.

🇸🇮 While a Slovenian court ruled last year that banning gay marriage was unconstitutional, the country's new Family Code only came into force yesterday. pic.twitter.com/kC4nNXxUSH

— Openly 🏳️‍🌈 (@Openly) February 1, 2023

The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities also shared a message on Twitter to celebrate the law coming into force, writing: “We are glad that the amendment to the Family Code, which eliminates the unconstitutional legal distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex couples in the possibility of entering into marriage and joint adoption of a child, finally enters into force today.”