Institute of Cohabitation Won't Be Introduced, House Turns Down SaS's Proposal

Bratislava, October 19 (TASR) – The institute of legally acknowledged cohabitation will not be introduced in Slovakia for the time being, as Parliament failed to move a draft amendment to the Civil Code sponsored by the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party to its second reading on Wednesday.

According to SaS MPs, the draft was meant to improve legislation in the area of proprietary rights concerning persons living in the same household. It would have been possible to conclude a cohabitation between same-sex, as well as opposite-sex couples. SaS proposed to introduce cohabiting partners’ rights in the field of inheritance and access to information about each other’s health condition.

Fifty out of 133 MPs present in the voting voted for the draft, while 37 were against, 15 refrained from voting and 31 didn’t vote.

OLaNO caucus head Michal Sipos told TASR before the vote that OLaNO MPs will have their hands free when voting on the draft. Five OLaNO MPs working in the party under the Christian Union platform said already in advance that they would not back the proposal.