In an Advisory Opinion (
full text in Spanish) dated Nov. 24, 2017, but apparently first published on Jan. 9, 2018, the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the
American Convention on Human Rights requires governments to recognize family rights of same-sex couples and transgender rights. As reported by the
Washington Blade:
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Tuesday issued a landmark ruling that recognizes same-sex marriage and transgender rights in the Western Hemisphere.
The seven judges who issued the ruling stated governments “must recognize and guarantee all the rights that are derived from a family bond between people of the same sex.” Six of the seven judges also agreed that it is necessary for governments “to guarantee access to all existing forms of domestic legal systems, including the right to marriage, in order to ensure the protection of all the rights of families formed by same-sex couples without discrimination.”
The court issued its ruling after the Costa Rican government in 2016 asked for an advisory opinion on whether it has an obligation to extend property rights to same-sex couples and allow transgender people to change their name and gender marker on identity documents.
The ruling says the Costa Rican government must allow trans people to legally change their name and gender marker on official documents.
According to
La Voz, "Costa Rica is the only country that gives the same weight to a CIDH ruling as it does to a national court’s judicial decision."
