By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent
BUENOS AIRES, March 10, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Argentinan judge has nullified the “marriage” recently contracted between two homosexuals in the city of Buenos Aires, and has ordered them to return all documents related to the union.
Judge Felix Igarzabal, a national judge, reversed a previous decision by a Buenos Aires judge permitting the “marriage” between Damian Bernath, 39, and Jorge Salazar Capon, 43, in late February.
Igarzabal based his decision on article 172 of Argentina's national civil code, which states that the “complete and free consent expressed personally by a man and a woman before the authority that is competent to celebrate it, is indispensable for the existence of matrimony.”
The couple's attorney, Florenzia Kravetz, said the two had not received formal notification of the decision, and claimed that the “marriage” would legally remain in effect until such notification was delivered.
Kravetz also denied that the judge had jurisdiction in the case. However, the Corporation of Catholic Attorneys responded by pointing out that “a city judge does not have jurisdiction when the issue is marriage. Those who have authority are the national civil courts.”
Maria Rachid, president of the Argentina Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transsexuals, said that her organization would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, and would even attempt to put the judge on trial, claiming that he acted on personal bias in the case.
Previous LifeSiteNews coverage:
Catholic Attorneys Fight Back Against Homosexual 'Marriage' in Argentina
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030301.html
First “Gay Marriage” Registered in Argentina
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10010603.html
Argentina Judge Orders Halt to Nation's First Gay “Marriage” On Eve of Ceremony
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/dec/09120108.html