After yesterday’s shameful and disappointing legal news from Europe, this is a wonderfully positive development (courtesy of the New York Times):
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that Chile must pay damages to a judge who was denied custody of her three daughters by the Supreme Court in 2004 because of her sexual orientation. The ruling by the human rights court, a judicial entity of the Organization of American States, requires Chile’s government to pay the judge, Karen Atala . . . $50,000, in addition to $12,000 in court costs. The February ruling, which was made public on Wednesday in Chile, is the latest development in a multiyear legal battle waged by Judge Atala, a lesbian who had lost custody of her daughters to her ex-husband, also a judge. Judge Atala’s lawyer called the decision “historic” for Chile’s legal system. Justice Minister Teodoro Ribera said Wednesday that Chilean authorities had acted to protect the “superior interests of the children involved,” but he also said Chile would respect the ruling.
