If you are gay in the DR you can marry, but you can’t officially call it a marriage. The former president of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Central Electoral Board (JCE), Jorge Subero Isa says same-sex people can acquire the same rights as married couples through a legally-binding contractual agreement.
The Dominican Constitution (Art. 55) establishes marriages are between a man and a woman. Art. 55 reads: “The state will promote and protect family organization on the basis of the institution of marriage between a man and a woman.”
Interviewed on El Despertador morning program, Subero explained that two people of the same can formalize a legal union similar to common-law marriages under Article 1,134 of the Civil Code, even when it can never be called marriage under the law.
Subero Isa said that Art. 1,134 of the Civil Code covers contractual freedoms and establishes that individuals can establish any type of agreement.
Article 1,134 states that “legally formed agreements have the force of law for those who have made them. They cannot be revoked except by mutual consent or for the reasons authorized by law. They must be carried out in good faith.”
This means two people of the same sex can sign a contract that defines their relationship, mutual rights and obligations, distribution of property, and other relevant aspects upon dissolution of the contract.
“You can call it whatever you want. You can say you and I are going to get married. How we are going to handle the assets. That I’m going to have your last name, you can have mine. Everything can be regulated from a civil point of view,” he indicated.
Subero says that while it is possible to structure a contractual relationship that covers all the needs and desires of a couple, including the use of surnames and the management of common property, the parties will need to avoid calling this union a “marriage” to avoid legal and religious conflicts. In the words of Subero Isa: “If we call it marriage, there are problems.”
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Noticias SIN
6 June 2024