The Supreme Court of Panama has rejected the recognition of same-sex marriage, finding that it “does not fall within the category of a human right or a fundamental right”, in a judgment communicated on Wednesday.
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“The right to equal marriage is no more than an aspiration which, although legitimate for the groups concerned, does not fall into the category of a human right or a fundamental right”, according to the judgment. of the Court dated February 16.
The Panamanian Supreme Court had been seized since 2016 of several appeals from homosexual couples against the Family Code, which only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman.
The requesting couples invoked the unconstitutionality of these provisions to seek recognition of their marriage celebrated in other countries.
However, “despite changes that may occur in reality”, same-sex marriage “does not enjoy conventional and constitutional recognition” in Panama, according to the judgment approved by six of the Court’s nine magistrates.
The norms imposed by the Family Code reserving marriage to the union of a man and a woman “are objective and rationally justified by the general interest of giving preference to those unions which can found families, preserve the human species and therefore society”, according to the Supreme Court of Panama.