Earlier this month , bringing marriage equality to a total of 20 countries within the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).
The decision meant that the 16 countries who previously didn't allow same-sex marriages were now legally bound to do so.
Unfortunately for one couple, who would have been Costa Rica's first legal same-sex marriage, they hit a slight bureaucratic snag. Roberth Castillo and Mario Arias were supposed to be getting married on Saturday, but the day before the wedding the pair had to postpone after they were informed that notaries would refuse to recognise the union.
When the decision from the IACHR came through they recommended that the rights of same-sex couples be upheld by temporary decrees until governments update their laws. The president of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, did, in fact, tell his government agencies to comply with the IACHR decision until the court formally adopted new laws.
Unfortunately for Castillo and Arias notaries are refusing to sign their marriage documents until the laws have been formally changed. The notary council announced the day before their wedding was planned that it would only begin to sign off on same-sex marriages after the courts had annulled the laws in place preventing them.
"The rules that regulate marriage in Costa Rica remain in force," the notary council said in a statement.
According to , the couple's attorney, Larissa Arroyo, commented saying, "There's nothing stopping the road to equality, but the truth is we don't know how long it will take to get there".
