WILLEMSTAD - This Saturday, the first lesbian couple will marry on Curaçao, having successfully challenged the exclusivity of heterosexual marriage. The case concluded on July 12 before the Supreme Court in The Hague, which upheld the previous ruling of the Court in Willemstad.
In that ruling, it was determined that the provision in the Civil Codes of Aruba and Curaçao regarding heterosexual marriage conflicts with the anti-discrimination clause in the separate Constitutions of Aruba and Curaçao.
Since July 12, same-sex couples have been allowed to marry on the islands. Since then, besides the couple getting married on Saturday, eight to nine other couples have registered their intent to marry on Curaçao, according to a spokesperson from the Human Rights Caribbean Foundation.
On Aruba, same-sex marriages will take a little longer to take place. According to a spokesperson from Fundacion Orguyo Aruba, this is due to a lack of available appointments at the Civil Registry until October.