A Croatian gay couple are set to become foster parents after a landmark ruling by a Zagreb court, local media reported. The couple filed a lawsuit after authorities abruptly rejected their bid to foster children.
A court in Zagreb paved the way for a same-sex couple to foster children in Croatia, overruling a previous rejection by a child welfare center, according to Croatian media.
"We are overjoyed," one of the men, Ivo Segota, told the Jutarnji list daily.
Segota entered a so-called life partnership with Mladen Kozic in 2015. In 2017, they applied to become foster parents with the Zagreb Social Services Center.
"We were received very warmly and nicely… because Zagreb has a chronic deficit of foster homes, especially those who have the conditions and desire to foster several children, which forces the centers to separate biological siblings," Segota said
Double rejection
The lawsuit argued the rights of children to have quality accommodation and care were also harmed by the center's decision.
"Because every child has a right to grow up in a family, and not an orphanage," said Kozic.
Battle for adoption
The Zagreb court sided with the plaintiffs and ordered the ministry to reach a different decision. The court's ruling is final and without possibility of appeal, lawyer Bezbradica Jelavic said.
"We believe that the authorities will honor the court's decision," she said.
The Social Services Center is obliged to act in accordance with the verdict, according to a report in Vecernji list.
Parallel to the legal clash over becoming foster parents, the couple is also battling a decision that prevents them from adopting children. The verdict is still pending.