Cobaw Community Health Services Limited v Christian Youth Camps Limited & Anor [2010] VCAT 1613 (8 October 2010)
VCAT has recently ruled that a Christian adventure resort has discriminated against a gay youth suicide prevention group by denying them access to its camping facilities because of their sexual orientation.
Read MoreAB and Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission and Department of Human Services and Separate Representative of J [2010] VCC AD-10-003 (6 August 2010)
A recent decision of the Victorian County Court has opened the door – albeit only slightly – for gay men and women to adopt children in Victoria. Although the decision certainly represents a positive development, it is also problematic in a number of important respects – most significantly, in its level of engagement with the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006.
Read MorePerry v Schwarzenegger, Case No. C 09-2292 VRW (US District Court for the Northern District of California, 4 August 2010)
The US District Court has held that a prohibition against same-sex marriage violates the US constitutional requirements of ‘due process’ and equal ‘protection’.
Read MoreSchalk and Kopf v Austria [2010] 30141/04 (24 June 2010)
Does the right to marry, and the ‘family unit’, extend to same-sex couples? The European Court of Human Rights recent decision in Schalk and Kopf v Austria considers these issues.
Read MoreCatholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) v Charity Commission for England and Wales & Anor [2010] EWHC 520 (Ch) (17 March 2010)
The England and Wales High Court has held that it is for the Charity Commission to determine whether discrimination against same-sex couples by a charitable organisation is justified.
Read MoreKozak v Poland [2010] ECHR 280 (2 March 2010)
The European Court of Human Rights has held that Poland violated arts 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights by denying a man living in a homosexual relationship the right to succeed to a tenancy after the death of his partner.
Read MoreWhatcott v Saskatchewan (Human Rights Tribunal), 2010 SKCA 26 (25 February 2010)
The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan has unanimously held that four flyers, which contained anti-gay sentiments, were not so extreme as to violate that prohibition on hate speech under The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code ('Code'). In arriving at this decision, the court emphasised the importance of protecting the right to freedom of expression, which is protected by the Code, the Canadian Charter of Rights (Charter) and the common law.
Read MoreLadele v London Borough of Islington [2009] EWCA Civ 1357 (15 December 2009)
The England and Wales Court of Appeal has confirmed that a local council can compel its employee to register civil partnerships, even though this conflicts with the employee's religious beliefs.
Read MoreRodriguez v Minister of Housing & Anor (Gibraltar) [2009] UKPC 52 (14 December 2009)
The Privy Council has held that a Gibraltar Housing Allocation Committee policy to effectively grant government housing joint tenancies only to heterosexual couples was indirectly discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Read MoreEB v France [2008] ECHR 43546/02 (22 January 2008)
The Grand Chamber of European Court of Human Rights in E.B. v France held that the refusal to authorise an adoption application by a woman in a same-sex relationship, on the basis of her sexuality, amounted to a violation of arts 14 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Read MoreBaczkowski & Ors v Poland [2007] ECHR 1543/06 (3 May 2007)
The European Court of Human Rights has found that Poland violated its obligations to protect the right to freedom of assembly as a result of a failure to facilitate and accommodate a protest regarding discrimination against minority groups.
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