Status of Marriage Law

Same-sex couples in Panama cannot marry or pursue any other way to see their relationships recognized.

History of Pro-Marriage Efforts

LGBT organizations in Panama have been working toward civil marriage for same-sex couples for several years, with two major lawsuits being pushed toward the Supreme Court. One of these lawsuits is currently being considered by the Supreme Court in Panama. They were supposed to discuss the case in December 2018 but did not.

In early 2018, one of the Supreme Court magistrates demanded that federal lawmakers withdraw an anti-marriage proposal so they could consider the Inter-American Court decision.

A draft opinion against civil marriage for same-sex couples began circulating from one conservative Supreme Court judge in Panama in October 2017. The draft ruling was withdrawn in February 2018, and we still haven’t seen anything else from these cases.

In October 2020, the Sí, Acepto Panamá campaign launched to build public support and understanding for civil marriage for same-sex couples. The campaign launched with a major nationwide media buy, including this video, featuring the stories of parents of gay and lesbian people explaining their support for civil marriage.

Status of Other LGBT-Related Laws

• Homosexuality is decriminalized in Panama and has been since 2008, the last Spanish speaking country in the Americas to decriminalize.
• LGBT people are not protected from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Transgender people are only able to change their name and gender marker after gender-affirming surgery. One woman has been able to change her documents without surgery.

Pending Marriage Litigation

The Supreme Court has two actions pending to decide on the unconstitutionality of a section of the Family Code, which establishes marriage as the union between a man and a woman. The complaints were filed by a same-sex couple, who got married abroad and would like to see their marriage recognized in Panama.

There are at least two other cases  – two have been combined into one case: One filed by Álvaro José López Levy and another by Enrique Raúl Jelenszky. Morgan & Morgan is the legal team in these cases, which were combined in 2017.