Panama’s Supreme Court Rejects Equal Marriage: ‘It’s Not A Right And It’s Nothing More Than An Aspiration’

The Supreme Court of Panama has rejected the recognition of equal marriage since in its national Constitution it is not considered a human right.

“There is a reality, and that is that, until now, the right to equal marriage is nothing more than an aspiration that, although legitimate for the groups concerned, It does not have the category of human right and it also does not have a fundamental right“Said the Court in the judgment published on Wednesday but which had been approved on February 16 by six of the nine magistrates of the body.

The Supreme Court had gone for years – precisely since 2016 – without ruling on several appeal of unconstitutionality against the family code which only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman.

This position enjoys strong support from the Catholic Church and the Evangelicalas well as internal police and fire department codes that consider a “serious misconduct” there homosexuality.

The appeals were filed in court by several Panamanian same-sex couples in the hope that their marriages – solemnized and legally recognized abroad – would also be in their own country.

Without embargo, the Corte respondió a ellos asegurando que “por más cambios que se sucedan en la realidad”, por ahora, el matrimonio igualitario “carece de reconocimiento convencional y constitucional” en Panamá y cerró, así, el debate -al menos para el near future-.

“Panamanian diversity people pay a very high price every day to live without any type of rights”said the president of the Association of New Men and Women of Panama, Ricardo Betata Bond.

The highest court mentioned, on the other hand, that the articles of the Code that some couples sought to challenge were not declared unconstitutional.

In this regard, they differentiated them from same-sex marriage and explained that “they are objectively and reasonably justified in the public interest give priority to those unions likely to found familiesto give continuity to the human species and, therefore, to society”.

This decision was strongly criticized by various sectors of society who advocate greater equality and who, in turn, considered it a travesty since it was communicated on the same day that the UN celebrates the International Zero Discrimination Day.

“Today, the Supreme Court of Justice of Panama cowardly ruled against the law, denying that civil marriage for same-sex couples is a human right. »he commented to the agency AFPIvan Chanis, president of the Equals Foundation.

Panamanian justice “thus rejected the recognition of the dignity of same-sex couples and their right to found a family in Panama, it is a parody of the International Day of Non-Discrimination”, added Chanis.

The position of the Caribbean country contrasts with that of many organizations that have already gone beyond this discussion and moved forward on these equality issues, one of them, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights who, in 2018, came out in favor of this issue.

Then the organization determined that same-sex couples had the right same marital rights than heterosexuals, which was even a binding decision for the twenty countries that recognize the Court – including Panama -.

For its part, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rightsbased in Washington, had already repeatedly asked Panama to give the green light to these unions because he considered that his silence violated the human rights of LGBTI people and put them in a “very serious and dramatic” situation.

“It’s a slap in the face for all of us, the outrage we feel is immense. If there was any doubt that we face discrimination in our country, this decision illustrates it perfectly,” added Beteta Bond.

In any case, in Central America, only Costa Rica It allows same-sex marriages from 2020 after a court decision that dates back two years.

(With information from AFP)

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