By Andrel Harris,Alvaro Serey,Kevin Morales

The Cayman Islands Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the government, overturning Chief Justice Anthony Smellie’s previous ruling that legalised same-sex marriage in the Cayman Islands. At the same time, however, the court ordered government to “expeditiously” provide Chantelle Day and her partner, Vickie Bodden Bush, with legal status equivalent to marriage, according to court documents.

In a statement following the ruling, attorney and LGBTQ activist Leonardo Raznovich, said, “It is a sad day for Caymanians because their constitution has not been properly upheld by their own courts, and for this reason a sad day for the jurisdiction and its future….”

While overturning the chief justice’s previous judgment, the appeals court also called on the UK to step in and ensure that civil partnerships or a legal equivalent are implemented if the Cayman Islands government fails to do so. No timeline was given on how long government has to act, but the court did note that government has previously failed to decide this matter.

“It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Legislative Assembly has been doing all it can to avoid facing up to its legal obligations,” the court wrote. The next step for Bodden Bush and Day is not immediately clear.

How we got here

In August, the Cayman Islands government appealed the March 2019 landmark ruling handed down by Chief Justice Smellie.

The courts were initially petitioned in February by Day and Bodden Bush. They claimed discrimination on the grounds that the Marriage Law – parts of which comprise section 14 of the Constitution – defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. They said that definition resulted in a breach of their constitutionally protected human rights. Read more via Cayman Compass