Like Bermuda before it, the government of the Cayman Islands is set to appeal the decision handed down by the Cayman Court last Friday to legalise same-sex marriage.
The territory’s attorney general has been instructed to appeal the decision of Chief Justice Anthony Smellie and to ask for a stay of implementation of same-sex marriage pending the result of that appeal even though the judge in his ruling ordered the legislation be immediately amended.
The issue of same-sex marriage in the jurisdiction was so contentious, the planned business of the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly was suspended for the day to allow all elected members to have their say. The government put forward a number of arguments in support of this decision including the suggestion that the judge exceeded the scope of his powers when he changed the Marriage Law, and that he had trespassed on the remit of the legislative assembly by writing legislation thereby breaching the long-held notion of the separation of powers.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office immediately filed a statement expressing disappointment at the government’s decision and confirming that the governor, who was listed as a defendant in the original lawsuit, would not be involved in the appeal.
