The Legal Affairs Committee decided that the Cohabitation Bill (650 SE), initiated by 40 MPs, will go to the second reading on 7 October; if this is concluded, the final vote will take place on 9 October.

Five members of the Committee supported the conclusion of the second reading of the Bill, and four opposed it.

Today, the Committee voted on 23 motions to amend, and introduced a reference to the family of a registered partner, among other things.

“One of the arguments against this Bill has been that although the initial text laid out the legal relations between the registered partners, no reference was made of possible other family members, i.e. children, living with them,” said the Chairman of the Committee Neeme Suur. “We introduced amendments that provide protection and extend maintenance obligations to other members of the partners’ families as well.”

The Cohabitation Bill gives cohabiting but not married couples the right to register their civil relationship and thus regulate their legal relations. The scope of application of the Bill involves the procedure for entering into a cohabitation agreement, the rights and responsibilities of registered civil partners, and the bases for terminating the cohabitation agreement. The Bill allows same sex couples to register a civil partnership as well.