Immigration Appeal Tribunal: no room for discrimination under the constitution of the Cayman Islands

I understand that you are aware from other sources that the Immigration Appeals Tribunal has decided in our favour. Many of you have been reaching out at me for comments. Our thoughts are below.

We recognise this is a very important moment for the Cayman Islands. While we are personally delighted with the decision, we do not wish for the focus any longer to be on our specific circumstances or case.

This is a triumph of natural justice and reflects a profound respect for the rule of law. In the written words of the Tribunal, the Constitution of the Cayman Islands leaves no room for them or the Board to discriminate in circumstances where the current law of the Cayman Islands provides room to grant our application. To decide otherwise, it would have been undue discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation which it is prohibited by the Constitution of the Cayman Islands.

The Tribunal members involved, all of whom are Caymanians, should be commended for courageously discharging their legal duties and determining this application by correctly applying the existing laws of the Cayman Islands in a non-discriminatory manner, in compliance with the Cayman Islands Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. Love and equality have prevailed.

It should be acknowledged and respected, in particular, that the Tribunal has fulfilled its legal duties by applying the existing law, without succumbing to considerable political and social pressures to do otherwise. In this regard, I wish to express publicly my sincere apologies to the Tribunal members concerning previous statements that I have made to the press about the Tribunal, which were driven by frustration as to the upsetting and destabilising circumstances in which we were placed and were based upon a misunderstanding as to the reasons for the delay in resolving our matter.

We urge people to take a few moments carefully to think and properly to understand what this decision means. Crucially, it must be highlighted and understood that it has no implications for the definition of marriage under Cayman Islands law and it did not require any legislative reform. This is because the outcome was required under existing local law and international law, as is made clear in the written decision of the Tribunal. Any other outcome would have resulted in breaches of the law, both local and international. Having clarified this very important point, we feel it important also to clarify to everyone our view as to the limited but very significant implications of the Tribunal’s decision: same-sex couples, both Caymanians and expats, now have basic immigration rights recognised only. These are rights that opposite-sex married couples have always enjoyed and taken for granted, but until now have been inaccessible to same-sex couples in Cayman; that is, the right of certain individuals to settle here in the Cayman Islands with their loved one without fear of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In exchange, no one has lost anything and no law has had to change. The definition of marriage under the Marriage law and the Constitution remains the same. The decision should, hence, be looked upon admirably: it reflects the sophisticated nature of the Cayman Islands jurisdiction, its respect for the rule of law above anything and everything (the rule of law being the most precious commodity of the Cayman Islands as the Attorney General stated last year during his speech at the UCCI on the occasion of the Magna Carta celebrations), and, more importantly, the advancement in the most basic of human rights (being the respect to family and private life for all individuals). This sets a leading example for the rest of the Overseas Territories and the Caribbean Region. In the words of the newly appointed Minister for British Overseas Territories Baroness Anelay: “The strongest, safest and most prosperous societies are those that value diversity and strive to address all forms of discrimination against all people, including on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

We are grateful to all those who have supported this matter during what have been a very difficult 14 months or so and we look forward to moving on with our lives in the Cayman Islands.

Dr Leonardo J Raznovich
Visiting Senior Research Fellow
Intersectional Centre for Inclusion and Social Justice
Canterbury Christ Church University

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