Just who "won" the judicial review?
Mr Justice Weatherup's of the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 has been published. The judgement is available in full . The judge upheld the new regulations with a single exception:
I have found an absence of proper consultation on the harassment provisions. By reason of that finding and of the extended reach of the harassment provisions beyond that of discrimination and statutory harassment, the wider definition of harassment than that appearing in the European Directive, the concerns of the Joint Committee and the added consideration required when the offending matter is grounded in religious belief, the harassment provisions in the Regulations will be quashed.
The Review followed an application by seven Christian groups (namely: (1) The Christian Institute, (2) The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Ireland, (3) The Congregational Union of Ireland, (4) The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ireland, (5) The Association of Bapist Churches in Ireland, (6) The Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches, (7) Christian Camping International (UK) Limited).
Update: On Sunday's programme, I'll be joined by representatives from the Christian Institute and the Coalition on Sexual Orientation, plus an academic lawyer, to examine the implications of Mr Justice Weatherup's judgement.
Comments
A win on goal difference for the Christians, even if only on the technicality of consultation. Interesting points to emerge though are, the regulations don't cover the curriculum of schools, the County Court is the venue for future battles and despite not actually being an applicant in the case, Archbishop Sean Brady seems to have presented the main arguments. I'm glad he had the good sense to join the case. Wonder who pushed him into it.
I don't know who won but I was glad to see the harassment provision when relating to religious beliefs being quashed.
For those who are against the ruling I would point you to Voltaire -
`Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.'
It is good to see that the judge ruled that the regulations do not apply to the school curriculum. This means homosexual campaigners cannot claim that the regulations require the promotion of homosexuality in school lessons.
Regarding the harassment laws, all the judge was doing was to bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK by removing the inequitable difference that the British Government introduced between the different parts of the UK by using Northern Ireland as an experiment in law. The discrimination that the British Government introduced between the different jurisdictions of the UK has been removed.
Concerning the religious liberty element of the SOR the judge ruled that Christians can make use of Article 9 rights to religious liberty when defending themselves against actions brought under the regulations.
As all the best journalists say: if you want to find out the truth, follow the money. The High Court has yet to decide how to apportion the costs. If the Christian coalition are granted costs, then it looks like a win. Issue will be decide on October 4th.