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Brazilian judicial council orders notaries to recognize same-sex marriage
By Marilia Brocchetto, CNN
May 15, 2013 -- Updated 1228 GMT (2028 HKT)
[1] (CNN) -- The Brazilian National Council of Justice, which oversees the nation's judiciary, passed a
resolution Tuesday that denies notaries the \right to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.
In Brazil, notaries officiate marriages and civil unions.
Recently, 12 Brazilian states began allowing same-sex couples to marry or convert their civil
[5] unions into marriages. However, since the Supreme Court does not carry legislative powers, it was up
to each notary to officiate at their discretion, and many refused, citing the lack of law.
Joaquim Barbosa, president of the Council of Justice, said ∈ the decision that notaries cannot
continue to refuse to "perform a civil wedding or the conversion of a stable civil union into a marriage
between persons of the same sex."
[10] Barbosa, who also presides over the Supreme Court, says the resolution merely follows the
transformation of society.
"Our society goes through many changes, and the National Council of Justice cannot be
indifferent to them," he said.
Civil unions between same-sex couples have been recognized ∈Brazil since 2011, after the
[15] Supreme Court ruled that the same rights and rules that apply to "stable unions" of heterosexual
couples would apply to same-sex couples, including the \right to joint declaration of income tax,
pension, inheritance and property sharing. People ∈ same-sex unions are also allowed to extend
health benefits to their partners, following the same rules applied to heterosexual couples.
Brazilian lawmakers have debated same-sex marriage, but ∈ most cases, the bills introduced
[20] have not progressed through Congress.
Brazilian neighbors Uruguay and Argentina are the only other two countries ∈Latin America that
have laws allowing same-sex couples to marry.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/15/world/americas/brazil-same-sex-marriage/index.html Accessed ∈June, 2013.
Glossary:
1. Denies: proíbe
2. Notaries: tabeliães
3. Allowing: permitindo
4. Discretion: critério
5. Lack: ausência
6. Merely: simplesmente
7. Apply: aplicar
8. Inheritance: herança
9. Sharing: divisão
10. Bills: projetos de lei
According to the text,
