And in other news out of the Court of Appeal, the Catholic Church in Belize has pulled out of the appeal of the Section 53 case. You'll remember it as the landmark decision from Justice Kenneth Benjamin which legalized gay sex between consenting adults.
Last month, we told you how the Catholic Church, the only religious organization taking part in the appeal of that decision, hit a setback when their attorney on record asked the court to be removed as their legal representation. They also failed to file any legal arguments to meet the deadlines for the case management.
Well, on Friday, the Court of Appeal got in touch with the litigants in the case. In the court's communication, it says, quote, "Take notice that the Roman Catholic Church, the Appellant in Civil Appeal Number 31… hereby wholly withdraws its appeal against the Respondent in the… appeal.
We're unsure of the exact impact of the Church's withdrawal from the appeal, since the Appellant is usually the litigating party which prosecutes a case. There is, strictly speaking, no longer an appellant. Caleb Orozco, who won the Section 53 judgment is a respondent, and so is the Government.
The Interested Parties, who can make arguments in the case includes, UNIBAM, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the Human Dignity Trust, and the International Commission of Jurists. The documents say that the Anglican Church and the Belize Evangelical Association of Churches are also listed as interested parties. You'll remember that the Anglican Church indicated early that they won't participate in the appeal.
Respondent Caleb Orozco sent us an email saying, quote, "What is left is the Belize government standing to argue this case on its partial point of sex and freedom of expression. Please see document below that reflect withdrawal request."
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