American Expatriate Costa Rica

Criminal complaint against gay marriage is at a halt

The criminal complaint filed by the Civil Registry to the Public Prosecutor against the marriage of two women, Laura Florez-Estrada and Jasmine Elizondo has slowed down, according to Marco Castillo, a notary who participated in the wedding and leader of the Diversity Movement.

Castillo explained that the process is being halted because he and the women presented two unconstitutionality claims before the Corth IV against paragraph 6 of Article 14 of the Family Code, which prohibits same-sex marriage.

The Court has not taken that decision for quite some time, therefore, the criminal proceedings are now pending, waiting for a decision on the issue,”

said Castillo.

Although the Registrar also requested the annulment of marriage, Castillo said that it is still valid because so far there are no legal reason to cancel it.

Laura Florez-Estrada Elizondo and Jasmine were married on July 25th, 2015, because the birth certificate of one of them indicated that she was man.

Subsequently, the Civil Registry corrected the certification and filed the indictment for the crime of illegal marriage, after claiming that the wedding was performed taking advantage of the error.

The crime for illegal marriage carries a penalty of up to 4 years in prison for the notary and up to 3 years for the spouses.

In addition, witnesses were accused of ideological falsity.

crhoy.com