The ban on same-sex marriage in Curaçao is legally wrong. The judge on the island has decided that. As long as there is no equivalent alternative for same-sex couples such as a registered partnership, refusing same-sex marriage amounts to discrimination. The case was brought by a human rights foundation in Curaçao, the Human Rights Caribbean Foundation.
The judge took into account, among other things, that gay couples now do not have the same financial options as straight couples. For example, they cannot arrange matters such as pension law and inheritance law together. The Curaçao state argued in court that gay couples can arrange this on the basis of a cohabitation contract or a will, but the judge ruled that this is not equivalent.
The Curaçao state also insisted that gay couples can move to neighboring island Bonaire, where same-sex marriage is regulated. But the court did not agree with that either. The current situation is contrary to the Constitution (the Constitution of Curaçao), the judges concluded.
Subject of debate
Same-sex marriage has been a controversial topic in Curaçao for some time. In 2018, a bill was made to open marriage to people of the same sex, but the proposal has not yet made it past parliament. It was again an issue in the March elections, although none of the parties in parliament included the point in their election manifesto. NOS correspondent Dick Drayer: “The proposal is still in the drawer of parliament and is deliberately not being discussed.”
In Aruba, the judge also made a similar ruling, but that did not lead to change. It is also questionable for Curaçao whether this will happen; officials are not allowed to formally refuse gay couples with the ruling, but in practice there is a good chance that this will happen. “I don’t expect much to change,” Drayer says.
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