/ world today news/ The advocates of same-sex marriage had a permanent participation in the working group of the Ministry of Justice, which worked on the preparation for the ratification, commented the lawyer, one of the leaders of the civil organization
A lawyer Kanchev, the government’s proposal to ratify the so-called The Istanbul Convention sparked a wide debate. For their part, the BSP and the coalition partners “United Patriots” expressed a strong position against the adoption of the document. In your opinion, is it possible that the issue will eventually reach the Constitutional Court (SC) and if it happens, how will the judges rule?
Whether the matter will reach the SC depends on those who have the right to refer it. The applicants are legally defined, but in general the ratification of the Convention has two problematic texts that introduce the new concept of “gender” or “social sex”, which at a given moment, and in the future development of the legislation, may cause norms to be in conflict with the definition of family, which is the Constitution, namely – a union between a man and a woman.
In the development of future legislative changes, either in the law on measures against domestic violence or in the Family Code, or in other acts, due to the entry into force of an international act such as the Istanbul Convention, initiatives will begin to change the understanding of family. Then it will most likely be referred to the Supreme Court.
Adoption of the Istanbul Convention opens the door to future changes in legislation that would be unconstitutional.
Are there any concerns behind the substance of the Istanbul Convention, namely the prevention of domestic violence against women, the attempt to recognize a “third sex” and the legalization of same-sex marriage?
Exactly. There is no one who is against this part of the Convention related to measures against violence against women. However, we are talking about two texts in Art. 3 and Art. 4 of the document introducing the concept of “social gender” or denying gender as a biological condition. This is a redefinition that can also be used in changing certain laws in our country.
Accordingly, it can change the paradigm regarding regulations related to individual sexes, such as we have in our country. At least there are still changing rooms for men and women in Bulgaria. There are sports that are male and female. I give this example because a case was recently highlighted in another country in which a transgender man entered a women’s weightlifting competition and accordingly scored higher than his female competitors. That’s the kind of stuff it’s about.
In fact, shouldn’t such documents be consulted with experts from all concerned organizations, since there are opinions that the Minister of Justice Tsetska Tsacheva and the former Minister of Justice Ekaterina Zaharieva, who signed the Convention, consulted only the NGOs that are they strongly biased towards the legalization of same-sex marriages in our country?
Indeed, the working group that worked last year before the approval of the ratification text was extremely closed. It is not known how the participants were invited. Advocates of same-sex marriage have had a permanent presence in the working group, while other organizations, the more conservative ones or the Church, which by definition have the opposite understanding of what a family is and what the role of a man and a woman are, have been automatically excluded, precisely with in order to make the work of the working group much smoother. This also led to the current conflict.
It would have been much more reasonable if this whole storm had happened there, in the task force, than for the public to be concerned with this case right now. On the other hand, there was a wide discussion and people were informed of what was really happening with the Convention.
And if we do finally ratify the Istanbul Convention, is it possible that there will be an increase in cases against Bulgaria in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), as a result, for example, of complaints by homosexual couples that their marriage in our country is not recognized?
I do not think there will be an increase in cases, anyway this is not an area where the ECtHR can impose any requirement that Bulgaria change its concept of family. However, the constitutional norm remains in force. In general, in the text and of Art. 3 of the Convention makes it possible to take into account the context in the specific country, that is, the regulation that currently exists.
Even if there is an increase in such cases, they are unlikely to change things to the extent that there will be a change in the legislation or it will cause any permanent change in the regulation of the understanding of family.
That is, you do not think that it is possible to repair the Constitution as a result of such protests and complaints?
Rather, when developing the legislation in this direction, it will be taken into account that Bulgaria is already a party to the Istanbul Convention, and seeking synchronization with international acts that take precedence over Bulgarian legislation, there will be pressure to synchronize it precisely with the adopted texts of The Istanbul Convention. The government’s opinion was expressed that the Convention could be ratified with reservations, but unfortunately the problematic texts contained in it are not subject to acceptance with reservations. The rules are like that regarding these two particular problem texts we are talking about.
There was also talk of ratification together with an explanatory declaration, which many legal colleagues believe will have no legal value because it is not provided for in the regulation. The declaration itself, although it will have no legal value, will serve as an apology to the voters. Then the people’s representatives will say – we did not want to accept it, but they obliged us. That is the law.
In this sense, is it possible for Bulgaria to find itself pressured by the EU, including because of our Presidency of the Council of the European Union, to ratify the Convention, just because of its membership in it?
No. Matters concerning family relations or gender are something that the parties themselves determine. At least, if you remember during the process of Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, when we were unifying our legislation in order to enter the Union, no one asked us to change such a question and there was no such discussion then, so this is out of scope of the mandatory norms that each country must adopt.
A number of countries have not yet adopted the Istanbul Convention, and in this way the conservatism of the society is taken into account. This in itself, I consider to be good – to preserve the primitive tradition and understanding of what the family is. At least 50 years ago, no one questioned these categories, but now another wind is coming. We don’t have to accept it though. With us, traditions and customs are still a very powerful tool.
Does our country have a working mechanism for the prevention of domestic violence?
We have a law on measures against domestic violence, but the truth is that this law is extremely dysfunctional and ineffective. The measures imposed on it are extremely ineffective. From this point of view, there is a need for reform, but this must be done in the law itself at the national level. The mere adoption of the Istanbul Convention is unlikely to directly change the regulation, rather the legislator should focus on changing the internal norms.
There is much to change in the law, at least the restraining order imposed on the abuser is up to a year and a half. After this year and a half, what happens? He still has access to the victim. Mandating the abuser to go and get counseling or treatment is also not respected. In addition to the change in the legislation, the availability of such social services should also be ensured, which, if the court forcibly says that they must be used, the abuser will receive specialized help and, accordingly, future similar behavior will be prevented.
There is more to be done, but perhaps the Istanbul Convention is not the answer.
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