Hungary must recognise the marriage of same-sex couples
The Metropolitan Court (of Budapest) ruled that the Hungarian state should acknowledge the marriage of same-sex couples abroad as a registered partnership, according to Mérce.
An American-Hungarian lesbian couple began to sue the state because the authorities refused to register their married status, the ceremony was in Belgium, where same-sex couples can have formal weddings.
The American citizen could not obtain the resident status in Hungary through family reunification. And as the marriage of same-sex couples is allowed in the United States, officially she is already married, and it means that cannot enter in a registered partnership in Hungary, which is accepted for same-sex couples.
According to the judgment at first instance, the refusal to recognise a registered partnership would be in violation of the fundamental rights, as Hungarian law would deny the legal recognition of their long-term coexistence. According to the "Mérce" legal portal the tribunal has overruled the resolution of the Ministry of Justice by its decision.
In the Hungarian legal system, there has been a registered partnership since 2009, guaranteeing almost the same rights as marriages to partners.
South American countries must allow same-sex marriage
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights said that South American countries must legalise same-sex marriage. The decision shall give a big boost to the fight for equal rights in the South and Central American countries.
According to the Court, the several jurisdictions have to create the discrimination-free environment for the same-sex couples, and this applies not only to the symbolic rights of family formation but also to financial assistance. The Court proposed that, while countries do not have to change their legal system by adopting new laws, they must ensure the equal rights of same-sex couples by regulation.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in Costa Rican city of San José. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States (OAS), which serves to uphold and promote fundamental rights and freedoms in the Americas. The body serves as an appeals forum for human rights violations and reviews the legislative processes of the member states of the United States of America.
The court decision on same-sex marriage was made by Luis Guillermo Solis of Costa Rica, who also supported the same-sex marriage in his own country.
In recent years, despite the strong disapproval of the influential Roman Catholic Church, laws have been passed in many Latin American countries that point and lead to the recognition of same-sex couples. Argentina legalised first in 2010, but now Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay also allow the same-sex couples to marry. In other Latin-American countries, like Mexico, Chile, Ecuador and Costa Rica, gays and lesbians may marry in some areas or can enter into a status similar to a registered partnership, which allows exercising the most fundamental rights.
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