Vallejos v Commissioner of Registration
The hearing on Vallejos' case began on 22 August 2011, and stretched out until the 24th. David Pannick represented the respondent, the Commissioner of Registration. During the hearing, the courtroom was packed to overflowing with lawyers, journalists, and other members of the public, who took up not just the seats in the public gallery, but also those for defendants and jury members (the latter being unoccupied as the case at hand was not a jury trial but a judicial review). Another hundred people watched the proceedings on a large-screen television in the lobby, while protestors both supporting and opposing Vallejos' case faced off outside the building without incident.
Recognition of same-sex unions in Ecuador
On 5 August 2013, LGBT rights groups launched a nationwide campaign under the name "Matrimonio Civil Igualitario" (Equal Civil Marriage), seeking to legalize same-sex marriage in the country. The campaign was launched with a marriage petition made by activist Pamela Troya and her partner at the Civil Registry of Quito. The petition was rejected days later, citing the country's Constitution and Civil Code. The couple announced on 8 August that they would file a lawsuit in order to have a judge order the Civil Registry to marry them. The lawsuit was filed on 13 August and is still pending. The case is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court, and focuses heavily on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights case of "Atala Riffo and Daughters v. Chile", which held that sexual orientation is a suspect classification.