Human Rights Case Summaries

Lee v Ashers Baking Co Ltd & Ors [2016] NICA 39

Summary
The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland has upheld that a Christian-run bakery was guilty of discrimination after they refused to make a cake containing the message “Support Gay Marriage”.

Roverto Court Order of 21 June 2016 (Sacred Heart Case)

This appeal was brought in the Rovereto Court (Court) by a teacher employed by the Institute of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Institute) in Rovereto, located in Northern Italy. 

R (Steinfeld and Keidan) v Secretary of State for Education [2016] EWHC 128 (Admin) (29 January 2016)

The UK High Court held that the enactment of same-sex marriage legislation in 2013 did not render restrictions on opposite-sex couples entering into civil partnerships incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights.

Oliari and Others v Italy (European Court of Human Rights, Chamber, Applications Nos. 18766/11 and 36030/11, 21 July 2015)

The European Court of Human Rights has concluded that Italy must provide legal recognition of same-sex couples. The ruling confirmed that Italy, by denying recognition to same-sex couples, was in violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for the right to respect for privacy and family life.

Lindsay v The Queen [2015] HCA 16

A recent decision of the High Court of Australia allows the partial defence of provocation to be left to a jury in circumstances where the accused claims to have been provoked by a non-violent homosexual advance.

Eric Gitari v Non-Governmental Organisations Co-ordination Board & 4 Others [2015] eKLR (24 April 2015)

The recent decision of the Kenyan High Court in Eric Gitari v Non-Governmental Organisations Co-ordination Board & 4 Others [2015] eKLR is an important victory for the right to freedom of association, and for gay and lesbian people in Kenya. The decision is part of a broader trend of African-based LGBTIQ groups using the courts to protect human rights. 

National Legal Services Authority v Union of India, Writ Petition No 400 of 2012 with Writ Petition No 604 of 2013, Supreme Court of India (15 April 2014)

The Supreme Court of India has ruled that transgender persons have a right to be legally recognised according to their self-identified gender, including a third gender. Failure to provide such legal recognition amounts to a breach of the right to equality before the law, non-discrimination on the basis of sex and the right to life and liberty with dignity. 

NSW Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages v Norrie [2014] HCA 11 (2 April 2014)

The High Court of Australia has held that NSW births, deaths and marriages law recognises that a person’s sex may be other than male or female, and that the NSW Registrar has the power to register someone’s sex as “non-specific”.

The Commonwealth v Australian Capital Territory [2013] HCA 55

The High Court of Australia has held that a law recognising same-sex marriage in the Australian Capital Territory was inconsistent with Commonwealth legislation and therefore was invalid. The High Court also stated unanimously that the Commonwealth has the power to legislate with respect to marriage equality pursuant to s 51(xxi) of the Constitution (the marriage power).

Norrie v NSW Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages [2013] NSWCA 145 (31 May 2013)

The NSW Court of Appeal has recognised that “sex” can mean more than male and female, allowing for the legal recognition of individuals who identify as neither. Asked to interpret the word “sex” in the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 (NSW), the Court overturned a decision of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Appeals Panel ruling that, contrary to the Appeals Panel decision, it was open to the Registrar to register as person’s sex as “non-specific”.

X v Austria [2013] ECHR 057

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has found that where second-parent adoption is available for unmarried different-sex couples, the impossibility of second-parent adoption by same sex couples is discriminatory and violates articles 8 and 14 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

AB v Western Australia [2011] HCA 42 (6 October 2011)

The High Court delivered a unanimous judgment affirming the right of transgender people to have their gender officially recognised after undergoing medical or surgical procedures, even if not all of their reproductive organs have been altered. The Court emphasised the purpose of the Gender Reassignment Act 2000 (WA) to alleviate suffering and discrimination transgender people face in society by providing legal recognition of their self-identification and perception of gender.