3.3 LEGAL PROTECTION OF SAME-SEX COUPLES 105. The Latvian Constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and the Civil Law expressly prohibits same-sex marriages.96 The domestic legal order does not have any provisions on registered partnerships - including for different-sex couples - nor on any other forms of same-sex partnerships or cohabitation.97 106. Entry into and residence in Latvia of citizens of the European Union and their family members is regulated by the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 675, adopted in August 2011, which transposed in Latvia the EU Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the European Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the member states. Under that regulation, an extended family member can be a partner with whom the EU citizen has a relationship lasting for at least two years or a partner with whom the EU citizen has a registered partnership. According to the Latvian authorities, the term “partner” is used to safeguard the rights provided in the Regulation and does not entail recognition of the partnership which has been the basis for granting the right of entry and residence.98 107. In 2011 the Mozaika NGO, also known as the Latvian Alliance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans People and their Friends, submitted a proposal to legalise same-sex partnerships.99 More recently, in January 2015, a gender-neutral civil partnership bill introduced to parliament was later rejected by the parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee on 24 February 2015.100 108. During his visit, the Commissioner received information about litigation initiated by 5 same-sex couples after their applications to register marriage were rejected. The cases were appealed to the Administrative Court of First Instance, where one of the applications was accepted and four were refused. The negative decisions were then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Commissioner was informed that the Supreme Court returned the cases to the lower courts for re-examination. It would also appear that the Supreme Court indicated the need for a broader interpretation of the issue under the provisions on the right to private and family life as protected by the Latvian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.101 109. In this regard, the Commissioner wishes to bring to the attention of the Latvian authorities the judgment of the Strasbourg Court in the case of Oliari and Others v. Italy,102 in which the Court reiterated its position that relationships of cohabiting same-sex couples living in stable de facto partnerships fall within the notion of “family life” within the meaning of Article 8 ECHR. The Court also acknowledged that same-sex couples are in need of legal recognition and protection of their relationship and that the lack of recognition fails to provide for some basic needs fundamental to the regulation of a stable relationship between a couple, such as mutual material support, maintenance obligations and inheritance rights. There is also a conflict between the social realities of people living openly as couples, and their inability in law to be granted any official recognition of their relationship. The Commissioner also refers to the Court’s finding of a growing trend among Council of Europe member states towards legal recognition of same-sex couples, with 24 of the 47 member states having already legislated in favour of such recognition in 2015. 96Article 110, the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia; Section 35 of the Civil Law, English translation: State Language Centre, 2015. 97 Latvia: The Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights – Submission to the UN Human Rights Council for its Universal Periodic Review of Latvia (11th Session(2011)). ILGA Europe. (ILGA Europe, UPR 2011) 98 Entry into Latvia by citizens of the Union and their family members; November 2015, Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of Latvia. 99 See for example, Appeal to Latvian Leaders to Support Recognition of Same-Sex Partnerships, Human Rights Watch, 24 May 2011. 100 Latvia, ILGA-Europe Annual Review 2016. 101 The Review of separate rulings of the Supreme Court and other judicial institutions: the first half of 2016 (in Latvian). See also, Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage request will be considered, Public Broadcasting of Latvia, 27 May 2016. 102 Judgment of 21 July 2015. See also the Court’s case-law factsheet “Sexual orientation issues”, July 2015 23