ICJ submission in LADELE & MCFARLANE v. United Kingdom

Sep 16, 2011

In Ladele & McFarlane v. United Kingdom, the applicants argue that the failure of their employers to grant them a religious exemption from serving same-sex couples is a violation of their rights under Article 9 of the European Convention.  Ladele, whose case was profiled in Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Justice: A Comparative Law Casebook, was a town registrar who claimed a religious objection to performing civil unions for same-sex couples.  McFarlane was a relationships counsellor who objected to providing psycho-sexual therapy for same-sex couples on religious grounds.  In its Submission, the ICJ argues that comparative law and practice demonstrate no support for exemptions from non-discrimination and equality laws for religiously motivated individuals.  In fact, the laws and judicial decisions of States both within and outside the Council of Europe demonstrate the overriding importance attached to the objective of eradicating sexual orientation discrimination.