The Kosovo government is bringing back to the table one of the most debated draft laws of recent years. The new Civil Code has once again been included in the legislative program approved by the Kurti 4 cabinet, an initiative that failed to pass in the Assembly in 2022 and is again expected to spark political and social debate.
The draft returns to the government calendar
According to the new government program, the Civil Code draft will be reviewed and then is intended to be sent to the Assembly for approval by November 15 of this year.
This is the same legal package that failed to win approval in Kosovo’s Parliament in March 2022, becoming at the time a difficult political test for the majority.
The point that sparked opposition
At the center of the debate remains a provision that envisaged the possibility of drafting a separate law for the registration of a “civil union” between persons of the same sex.
That section was precisely one of the main reasons for strong opposition several years ago, making the Civil Code far more than a technical legal reform.
Divisions even within the majority
Resistance to the draft had not come only from the opposition or groups outside politics. There had also been dissatisfaction among lawmakers from the ruling majority itself.
In Pristina, this provision has also been mentioned as one of the reasons for Eman Rrahmani’s departure from the Vetëvendosje Movement, showing that the political cost of this initiative was not small even for those in power.
Between international pressure and religious opposition
International representatives had considered the approval of the Civil Code a matter of significance and had called for it to receive the green light.
On the other side, religious communities in Kosovo had spoken out against the draft law and had called for it not to be approved in the proposed form, turning the initiative into an open clash between political pressures, international expectations and domestic opposition.
The process now passes to the Ministry of Justice, which according to the government program is responsible for preparing the draft for the Assembly.
It remains to be seen whether the revised version will soften the old objections or bring back the same political deadlock that stopped it the first time.