Country Overview
Montenegro
At a glance
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Montenegro’s 2010 Law on Prohibition of Discrimination includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and “intersex characteristics” as prohibited grounds of discrimination in employment, education, health care, and the provision of goods and services in the public and private sectors. In July 2013, Montenegro amended the criminal code to impose harsher penalties for hate crimes committed due to the victim’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
However, LGBTIQ activists continue to express dissatisfaction with the government’s implementation of both of these laws. Neither law allows the aggrieved party to file a claim directly in court. The Ombuds Office has not always been responsive, and the Office of the State Prosecutor has declined to prosecute many cases of alleged hate crimes. Discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ people persist.
In 2020, Montenegro adopted a law to legalize registered same-sex partnerships. These unions confer most of the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as marriage, though they do not allow adoption. The Constitution of Montenegro only permits marriage between a woman and a man.
Trans people can change their legal gender markers, but only after a diagnosis and gender-affirming surgery. Montenegro operates an ID system where one’s ID number also indicates that person’s gender. That number can be changed based on an amended birth certificate. The primary legislative focus in 2025 has been the push for the Law on Legal Recognition of Gender Identity Based on Self-Determination. Introduced in Parliament in March 2024, the draft law seeks to allow trans and gender-diverse individuals to change their legal gender marker without undergoing invasive medical procedures like sterilization or surgery. Despite being a core requirement for Montenegro’s EU Accession Plan, the law has faced significant political stalling and strong opposition from the Serbian Orthodox Church. This demand for self-determination was the central theme of the 13th Montenegro Pride in October 2025, held under the slogan “Resistance Builds Freedom.”
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