Constitutional Court denies recourse to the Civil Registry in Satya case

Ecuadornews:

The Constitutional Court (CC) denied the Civil Registry a request for clarification of the sentence ordering that entity to register the minor Satya with the surnames of their mothers, the English citizens Nicola Rothon and Helen Bicknell.

This is stated in resolution No. 1692-12-EP of July 11, 2018, signed by Alfredo Ruiz Guzmán, president of the CC, and notified to the parties. The appeal was filed by Jorge Troya, General Director of Civil Registry, Identification and Certification.

The request for clarification and extension was based primarily on consulting the number of the identity card that the minor must keep, since the regulations do not provide for a citizen to have two identity numbers.

It was also consulted whether the text of the public apology should be drafted by the General Directorate of the Civil Registry. In response to this appeal, the CC replied that “the sentence clearly addressed” the obligation of civil registry officials to directly apply the constitutional rights that satiated Satya and her family.

The ruling also reported that the Court evidenced that the arguments raised by the Civil Registry “are intended to evade its constitutional responsibility in the face of full reparation declared by this highest body of constitutional interpretation.”

The resolution added that the public entity presented arguments “that are intended to distract from the effective compliance with the mandatory case law.” On May 29 last, the plenary session of the CC ruled that the Civil Registry violated the right of the English by denying them to register Satya as their daughter with a double maternal filiation and the surname of the two.

The ruling stated that the right of the girl to have a family, an identity and a nationality was violated. The protection action was requested by Patricio Benalcázar, Carla Patiño and José Luis Mayorga, attorneys of the Ombudsman’s Office and representatives of the foreign Rothon and Bicknell.

In this context, the constitutional body ordered several measures of restitution of rights. Among them, register the girl Satya Amani Bicknell Rothon as an Ecuadorian citizen, keeping their names, surnames and recognizing their filiation as the daughter of Helen Louise Bicknell and Nicola Susan Rothon, their mothers.

Afterwards, the public entity will have to inform the execution of the measure. In addition, it was arranged that the sentence be published on its web portal, through a hyperlink located in a visible and easily accessible, on its home page.

Public apologies will also be offered to the victim and family. Carla Patiño, lawyer for English women, indicated that so far they have not had any response from the Civil Registry.

Newspaper Diario EL TELÉGRAFO requested several occasions in writing the version of the Civil Registry to know when the disposition of the Court will be complied with. However, until the closing of this edition there was no response. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/sociedad/6/corteconstitucional-registrocivil-recurso-satya