On 18 June 2024, the Parliament approved the Marriage Equality Bill (“Bill”), which made Thailand become the first nation in South East Asia that legalizes the same sex marriage and supports the rights of LGBTQ+. This new law will come into force within 120 days from the date of its publication in the Government Gazette. Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to legally recognize same-sex marriages.
According to the Bill, it amended the definition of a marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two individuals” under section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, which removed the genders of persons who can register their marriage. Also, previously under the terms in the Civil and Commercial Code, they differentiated genders by using words “man”, “woman”, “wife”, and “husband”. But in this Bill, it amended the words to be “individuals” and “marriage couples”, which no longer identifies genders of persons. The LGBTQ+ will be able to receive the same rights as same as the man and woman couples do, such as signing medical consent for a partner and right to enter into legal divorce actions. In addition, the Bill allows the LGBTQ+ to adopt children.
Moreover, there is another amendment to section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code. It amends the minimum age of persons who can register their marriage from 17 years of age to 18 years of age, which is in compliance with the international rules on child protection.