The Sala IV constitutional court has rejected an appeal that sought to make same-sex marriages legal here.

The Poder Judicial reported the decision Tuesday night. The court let stand an article in the Codigo de Familia or family code that defined marriage as only legal between persons of the opposite sex.

Lawyer Yashín Castrillo Fernández filed the appeal July 29, 2003, and claimed that this provision in the family code conflicted with a principle of equality contained in the Costa Rican Constitution.

The high court vote was 5 to 2. The majority of the magistrates agreed that heterosexual couples are not in the same situation as homosexual couples, according to a summary provided by the Poder Judicial.

The magistrates also said there was no legal barrier to prevent homosexuals from living together and that the decision rendered specifically referred to the institution of matrimony.

The magistrates also suggested that some legislative remedy should be considered to provide stability and judicial security for homosexual unions.

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Costa Rica  has received half of what it seeks from the U.S. White House.

One of two pages that list Costa Rica as a member of the coalition in favor of the war in Iraq no longer carries the name of the country.

However, a second page still lists the country alphabetically as a coalition member.

Both pages contain what is reported to be a March 27, 2003, list of coalition members.

However, a Sala IV constitutional court decision in September 2004 ordered executive branch officials to get the name of the country removed. Bruno Stagno, the minister of Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, said Tuesday that he wanted the White House page to be “delinked” so that those who go to a search engine like Yahoo will not see Costa Rica listed as a member of the coalition.

The agreement by then-President Abel Pacheco to allow the country to be listed aroused strong passions. Costa Rica prides itself on its pacifist tradition.

Although the change in the White House Web page is nothing like the gaps in the audio tapes maintained by President Richard Nixon, the change does represent an effort to  change history.

Although Internet Web pages are updated easily, making changes in historical documents raises the specter of the novel “1984″ by  George Orwell in which the protagonist, Winston Smith, works for the Ministry of Truth doctoring historical records so that they conform to the politics of the day.

At the White House both Web pages purport to contain a copy of a news release issued March 27, 2003. Each Web site says that 49 countries are members of the coalition. One page lists 49 countries including Costa Rica. One page lists 48 countries and gives no reason what the number does not agree with that given in the header paragraph.

An effort to “delink” the page certainly would run afoul of search engines that maintain cache pages of key sites.

The incoming Óscar Arias Sánchez administration renewed a request to remove the country’s name, and a message to that effect was delivered to the U.S. Embassy here last week.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has announced plans to build a new hotel, called St. Regis, at Playa Coyol on the Central Pacific coast.

The Costa Rican company Zürcher Arquitectos is charged with the design of the new resort, near the Marriot Los Sueños hotel. It will include 133 rooms, three pools, a beach club, a spa, a gym, meditation and treatment centers, restaurants and conference rooms, said Ronald Zürcher, manager of the company.

The site spans 247 acres and is expected to generate 2,000 jobs during construction and 2,000 more once the hotel opens, which is expected for 2008.

The Starwood chain operates hotels in 95 countries, with brands including Sheraton, Westin and Le Meridien. St. Regis is the group’s first investment in Costa Rica.

-ACAN-EFE