SAME-SEX WEDDING WITHIN THE BRAZILIAN SUPREME COURT: Legal Reasoning together with danger of a Regressive Turn 1

Casamento homoafetivo no Supremo Tribunal Federal: argumentacao juridica e o risco de retrocesso

* Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil. Email: flavia. Puschel@fgv.br

This paper investigates what lengths the Brazilian Supreme Court has argumentatively committed it self to upholding marriage that is same-sex the facial skin of potential restrictive legislation based on the thinking the court utilized in its 2011 ruling about same-sex domestic partnerships. The paper concludes that the separation of litigation over domestic partnerships and wedding might have resulted in the possibility of a turn that is regressive homosexual legal rights with this matter.

KEYWORD PHRASES: same-sex wedding; same-sex domestic partnership; Brazilian Supreme Court; appropriate reasoning; separation of abilities

Este artigo pretende estabelecer em que medida o STF comprometeu-se argumentativamente a sustentar a inconstitucionalidade de possivel legislacao restritiva ao casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo, com base nos argumentos que fundamentaram sua decisao uniao estavel homoafetiva that is sobre. Conclui-se que a separacao da litigancia sobre uniao estavel ag e casamento pode ter resultado em risco de retrocesso em relacao aos direitos das pessoas homossexuais.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE: casamento homoafetivo; uniao estavel homoafetiva; Supremo Tribunal Federal; argumentacao juridica; separacao de poderes

The battle that is social same-sex wedding in Brazil played away in the Judiciary and had been achieved through one ruling because of the Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal – STF), one ruling because of the Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justica – STJ), 2 both from 2011, plus one administrative work by the National Justice Council (Conselho Nacional de Justica – CNJ), in 2013. 3

What exactly is best in this instance is that the ruling by the Supreme Court was at reality perhaps perhaps not about same-sex wedding, but about same-sex partnerships that are domestic. It is because of the fact that homosexual wedding advocates in Brazil adopted an incremental method of homosexual marriage litigation, intending first during the recognition of same-sex domestic partnerships as families beneath the legislation ( Moreira 2012, note 1, pp. 1.003-7).

According to an interpretation of this Supreme Court ruling on same-sex domestic partnerships, the Superior Court of Justice later on that exact same year granted a lesbian few the ability to obtain a married relationship license.

Finally, 2 yrs later on, centered on these tall Court rulings, the nationwide Justice Council, which can be the authority in charge of regulating and supervising officials that problem wedding licenses and perform weddings, permitted same-sex marriages without the necessity of a permission that is prior by a court of justice. 4

Between 2013 and 2016, 19,522 couples that are same-sex lawfully married in Brazil. 5 for the time being, as a reaction to these developments, Congress happens to be debating a brand new statute to expressly limit the idea of household to heterosexual couples, therefore banning same-sex marriage ( Nagamine; Barbosa 2017, p. 224). 6 In view associated with consequence of the current election that is presidential won by the radically conservative Jair Bolsonaro, as well as the rise into the quantity of conservative congressmen, 7 there’s been concern that this or any other restrictive bill will see a great governmental weather and become passed away. 8

Magazines report ccamonster that numerous gay partners rescheduled their weddings to a youthful date, fearing which they wouldn’t be in a position to get married any longer, when the legislature that is next in 2019. 9

That fear failed to develop into truth through the very first year of president Bolsonaro’s term. Other matters-mainly an important social protection reform-have dominated the governmental agenda so far. However with three more years to get, the possibility of a turn that is regressive legislation concerning same-sex wedding remains significant.