Spanish judges may not conscientiously object to gay marriage

| 01-06-2009 | Spanish Law | Written by Matthew Bennett

Spanish judges may not conscientiously object to marrying homosexual people, according to a new judgement issued by Spain’s Supreme Court.

Valencia Supreme Court

Valencia based judge Pablo de la Rubia Comos had asked to be exempted from his same-sex marriage duties, basing his petition on his strong Catholic faith, specifically on the Catholic Church’s Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In earlier instances, some right-wing judges had supported his decision but the Supreme Court has ruled that there is no general right to conscientious objection which can be based on a fundamental right to ideological and religious freedom:

“A judge in charge of the Civil Registry is not asked to carry out duties which are removed from his function as a Registrar, nor to participate in religious acts. The work he must carry out is of a legal and technical nature and is prescribed by law. Applicable precedent, therefore, is not admissible in this case, either doctrinally or factually”

Lots of interesting comments following this El Mundo article.

The Spanish association of Gays, Lesbians, Transsexuals and Bisexuals has said:

They should stop using the Catholic religion to block our rights … it’s about isolated cases of judges who think their ideas and beliefs are above the law, but they can do a lot of damage.

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