WILLEMSTAD - Member of Parliament Rennox Calmes will need to wait before his proposal to explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage in Curaçao's Constitution can proceed. According to a legal opinion from the University of Curaçao (UoC), the proposal must first be submitted for advice to the Kingdom Council of Ministers (RMR), as required by Article 44 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Only after this advice can the proposal be considered by Parliament. 

Calmes’ proposal is a response to a recent decision by the Supreme Court upholding the ruling of the Joint Court of Justice in Willemstad. That ruling declared that banning same-sex marriage and thereby excluding same-sex couples from marriage violates the principle of equality enshrined in Curaçao's Constitution. This effectively legalized same-sex marriage on the island. Calmes now seeks to amend the Constitution to explicitly ban it. 

A legal opinion by jurist Pascal Jacobs and Professor Flora Goudappel, drafted at the request of Parliament, stresses the importance of following the correct process. Parliament must formally schedule the proposal and decide to submit it to the RMR for review before substantive discussions can take place. This step is necessary to meet legal requirements and ensure an orderly process.