Marriages between persons of the same sex held abroad and its legal effects in Chile. Critical analysis of Article 80 of the Civil Marriage Law

Abstract

During the reform process to the Civil Marriage Law of 1884, our legislator decided to enact a provision in order to expressly deprive of legal effects any and all same sex marriages celebrated under a foreign jurisdiction. This paper emphasizes the consequences derived from the current legislation –considering that marriage is a cornerstone legal and social institution which transcends the restricted family sphere– in order to further analyze the implications that this legislative decision presents, from the perspective of family protection. Lastly, this paper also focus on the dissimilar legal treatment regarding breach of prohibitions for celebrating marriages that the law enacts, as well as the contradictions that itself presents with those cases in which the very Chilean law limits its validity claim.