The Supreme Court docket of Namibia ruled the nation’s authorities should acknowledge overseas same-sex marriages for immigration functions, probably signaling a serious coverage shift in a rustic the place homosexuality is criminalized.
The choice got here out of a consolidated attraction involving two overseas nationals in same-sex marriages with Namibian residents. These instances challenged the Ministry of House Affairs and Immigration’s refusal to acknowledge such marriages below the Immigration Control Act of 1993. The courtroom declared that if a wedding is legally concluded in accordance with the statutory necessities for a legitimate marriage in a overseas jurisdiction, it ought to be acknowledged in Namibia. Accordingly, the appellants, who have been legally married in South Africa and Germany, ought to be acknowledged as spouses below the Act, the courtroom dominated.
The courtroom additionally discovered that the Ministry’s interpretation of the Immigration Management Act to exclude a partner in a same-sex marriage infringes upon the partner’s proper to dignity, as protected below Article 8 of the Constitution. The courtroom’s determination upheld the rights to dignity and equality of the appellants in these instances.
A dissenting opinion argued that Namibia’s legal guidelines don’t acknowledge same-sex relationships and that the matter ought to be addressed by the legislature. The dissenting choose argued that Namibia is below no obligation to acknowledge a wedding that contradicts its insurance policies and legal guidelines, even whether it is authorized within the nation the place it was contracted.
