The history of legal norms or laws adjusting and punishing homosexual behaviour in Czechia dates back to 1768. Until this year, the Czech lands had no effective laws or legal norms related to same-sex relationships. Some traditional norms (and punishments) were used inconsistently throughout the country, depending on the specific regions and/or city. The timeline below shows how the criminalisation and de-criminalisation of same-sex relationships & unions evolved throughout our history.
1768 • The Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana criminal law: Homosexual relationships criminalised within the law of the Austrian monarchy. Homsoexual conduct punished by decapitation and burning.
1787 • The Constitutio Criminalis Josephina crimiminal law: Homosexual conduct reclassified and death penalty no longer used. Instead, punishments include forced labor and physical punishments.
1852 • Allgemeines Bundesgesetz criminal law: Homosexual conduct defined more strcitly, first mentions of punishing other forms of homosexual conduct.
1918 • The newly established Czechoslovakian republic inherits Austrian-Hungarian criminal law, homosexual conduct remains criminalised.
1931 • The first Czech homosexual community magazine is launched as "The Voice of Sexual Minorities".
1939 • Throughout the II. world war, homosexuals are captured and sent to concentration camps and prisons. Survivors never received any reparations.
1961 • Czechoslovakia legalizes same-sex intercourse
1990 • Ater the velvet revolution, the legal age for intercourse is standartised for "both" orientations, and the paragraph criminalising public nuisance by homosexual behaviour is abolished.
1998 • The first bill proposal for the registered partnership of same-sex couples is presented and declined by parliament.
1999 • A proposal for legalizing same-sex "cohabitation" is presented to and declined by parliament.
2001 • The government presents a new proposal to legalize same-sex cohabitation, the parliament returns the propsal for adjustments.
2001 • So-called "unregistered cohabitation" is legalized by parlianent. The law grants new rights & possibilities to persons living in a shared household.
2004 • In cooperation with the Gay & Lesbian League, a new bill proposal to legalize registered partnership is presented.
2005 • After 4 unsuccesful attempts (1998, 1999, 2001, 2005) the Czech parliament approves the registered partnership law.
2006 • President Vaclav Klaus vetoes the registered partnership, but is over-ruled by the parliament 2 months later.
2018 • A group of house members present a proposal introducing marriage equality and abolishing the institute of registered partnerships – the so-call "Marriage for all" bill.
2018 • The Czech government assents to the "Marriage for all" bill proposal.
2021 • The first hearing of the "Marriage for all" bill ends and the proposal is advanced to it's next hearing.
Sources:
„LGBT Rights in Czechia“ – Wikipedia, online: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_práva_v_Česku
Procházka, Ivo: „The History of legal approaches to homosexuality", online: http://zpravodajstvi.ecn.cz/PRIVATE/logos/pravhist.htm
„Registered partnership in Czechia“ – Wikipedia, dostupné online: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registrované_partnerstv%C3%AD_v_Česku
Bill no. 201, The Chamber of deputies of the Czech Republic Parliament, online: https://www.psp.cz/sqw/historie.sqw?o=8&T=201
