Although Ukraine chose its development path towards European integration, sexual minorities face lack of understanding that sometimes results in conflicts in our country.

As of today, the European Court of Human Rights has initiated proceedings based on three applications from Ukrainian LGBT people. Two of those applications relate to impossibility to enter into marriage. A LGBT campaigner, who was refused joining a political party, has filed the third application.

The Act on Enforcement of Judgments and Application of Case Law of the European Court of Human Right specifies in its Article 17 that judges should, when hearing cases, rely on the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the ECHR case law as a source of law. The Act also provides that government authorities must be sensitive to the ECHR case law and, particularly, take certain general measures. Such measures include, inter alia, making amendments to applicable law to remedy systemic problems and their first causes as established by the Strasbourg Court.

To learn about prospects of hearing of the Ukrainian applications in the light of how this issue is perceived in Strasbourg, please read the entire article Drozdova & Partners Law Firm director Ms Olena Drozdova authored for Yuridicheskaya Gazeta.