Lustig-Prean and Beckett v United Kingdom

Last updated

Lustig-Prean and Beckett v United Kingdom
Court European Court of Human Rights
Decided27 September 1999
Citations

Lustig-Prean and Beckett v United Kingdom (2000) 29 ECHR 548 is a UK labour law and European Convention on Human Rights case on sexual orientation discrimination. The European Court of Human Rights combined judgments for Beckett and Lustig-Prean, and the parallel decisions for Smith and Grady, are regarded as pivotal in gay rights throughout the UK and Europe.

Contents

Facts

Duncan Lustig-Prean (born 13 March 1959) [1] is a retired officer of the Royal Navy. In 1994 he was dismissed from the Royal Navy when it became known that he was gay. He then joined Rank Outsiders, who were campaigning for the right of gay men and lesbians to serve in the armed forces. [2]

John Beckett, a former Royal Navy Weapons Engineer was dismissed in 1993 for being gay following personal disclosure to a military chaplain. [3]

Lustig-Prean and Beckett alleged that their dismissal, together with the intrusive nature of the investigations conducted by the Military Police into their sexuality, violated their right to privacy under Article 8 ECHR. Duncan Lustig-Prean and John Beckett alongside Jeanette Smith and Graeme Grady brought a case against the UK – Lustig-Prean and Beckett v the United Kingdom – in the European Court of Human Rights. In 1999 the Court found in their favour, as a result of which the Government suspended dismissals on the grounds of homosexuality, and subsequently changed the law. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Judgment

The European Court of Human Rights held that the Article 8 rights of Lustig-Prean and Beckett had been breached. [8] The UK government immediately suspended discharging homosexuals and within months had changed the law. An ECHR judgement applies to all signatory nations of the convention.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Convention on Human Rights</span> International treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe

The European Convention on Human Rights is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states are party to the convention and new members are expected to ratify the convention at the earliest opportunity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonewall (charity)</span> UK-based charity and advocacy group for LGBT rights

Stonewall Equality Limited, trading as Stonewall, is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) rights charity in the United Kingdom. It is the largest LGBT rights organisation in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom</span>

The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have developed significantly over time. Today, lesbian, gay and bisexual rights are considered to be advanced by international standards.

X. v. the United Kingdom was a 1978 case before the European Court of Human Rights, challenging the Sexual Offences Act 1956 in the United Kingdom. The case addressed privacy protections and age of consent laws for homosexuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Cyprus</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Cyprus have evolved in recent years, but LGBTQ people still face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female expressions of same-sex sexual activity were decriminalised in 1998, and civil unions which grant several of the rights and benefits of marriage have been legal since December 2015. Conversion therapy was banned in Cyprus in May 2023. However, adoption rights in Cyprus are reserved for heterosexual couples only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Moldova</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Moldova face legal and social challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same rights and benefits as households headed by opposite-sex couples. Same-sex unions are not recognized in the country, so consequently same-sex couples have little to no legal protection. Nevertheless, Moldova bans discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace, and same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Botswana</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Botswana face legal issues not experienced by non-LGBTQ citizens. Both female and male same-sex sexual acts have been legal in Botswana since 11 June 2019 after a unanimous ruling by the High Court of Botswana. Despite an appeal by the government, the ruling was upheld by the Botswana Court of Appeal on 29 November 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Asia</span>

Laws governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are complex in Asia, and acceptance of LGBTQ persons is generally low. Same-sex sexual activity is outlawed in at least twenty Asian countries. In Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, homosexual activity results in death penalty. In addition, LGBT people also face extrajudicial executions from non-state actors such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. While egalitarian relationships have become more frequent in recent years, they remain rare.

<i>Smith v Gardner Merchant</i>

Smith v Gardner Merchant [1998] IRLR 510 is a UK labour law case, concerning the possibility of claiming compensation for discrimination under the gender statutes. It took place before the Employment Equality Regulations 2003 were introduced.

Smith and Grady v UK (1999) 29 EHRR 493 was a notable decision of the European Court of Human Rights that unanimously found that the investigation into and subsequent discharge of personnel from HM Forces on the basis they were homosexual was a breach of their right to a private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision, which caused widespread controversy at the time led the UK to adopt a revised sexual-orientation-free Armed Forces Code of Social Conduct in January 2000. In UK law the decision is notable because the applicants' case had previously been dismissed in both the High Court and Court of Appeal, who had found that the authorities' actions had not violated the principles of legality including Wednesbury unreasonableness, thus highlighting the difference in approach of the European Court of Human Rights and the domestic courts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queer Cyprus Association</span>

Queer Cyprus Association is an LGBTQ rights organisation in Northern Cyprus aimed to deal with criminal law amendments of TRNC which criminalises same-sex relationships. They seek equal human rights including to "fully decriminalize homosexuality, equalize the age of consent and better protect LGBTQ people under the law.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual orientation and the military of the United Kingdom</span>

Gay and lesbian citizens have been allowed to serve openly in His Majesty's Armed Forces since 2000. The United Kingdom's policy is to allow lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) personnel to serve openly, and discrimination on a sexual orientation basis is forbidden. It is also forbidden for someone to pressure LGBT people to come out. All personnel are subject to the same rules against sexual harassment, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

<i>Norris v Attorney General</i>

Norris v The Attorney General is a 1983 judgement from the Supreme Court of Ireland that held that the law which criminalised homosexuality was not against the Constitution of Ireland. David Norris was subsequently successful in the European Court of Human Rights, where in Norris v. Ireland (1988) they found that the law was in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland with a population in 2015 estimated to be approximately 88,000. It enjoys a high degree of domestic, legislative and political autonomy through its ancient Parliament Tynwald. By convention, the United Kingdom Government is responsible for the conduct of the international relations and defence of the island. The Isle of Man does not have a written constitution, or a Bill of Rights which sets out its Human Rights. These rights are addressed in the Human Rights Act 2001. The island has also ratified a number of international treaties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Curaçao</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Curaçao have similar rights to non-LGBT people. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Curaçao. Discrimination on the basis of "heterosexual or homosexual orientation" is outlawed by the Curaçao Criminal Code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Sint Maarten</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Sint Maarten may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but same-sex marriage is not legal. Same-sex couples with Dutch nationality must travel to the Netherlands to get married, and that will not provide the rights of marriage in Sint Maarten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Jones (Royal Navy officer)</span>

Craig Jones is a former Royal Navy Officer and LGBT rights defender in the UK armed forces. Jones was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 New Years Honours List for services to Equality and Human Rights in the Armed Forces.

<i>Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others</i> Northern Ireland, UK discrimination, and freedom of speech and religious expression, legal case

Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others[2018] UKSC 49 was a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom discrimination case between Gareth Lee and Ashers Baking Company, owned by Daniel and Amy McArthur of Northern Ireland. Lee brought the case after Ashers refused to make a cake with a message promoting same-sex marriage, citing their religious beliefs. Following appeals, the Supreme Court overturned previous rulings in favour of Lee and made a judgement in favour of Ashers. The court said there was no discrimination against Lee and that Ashers' objections were with the message they were being asked to promote. The court held that people in the United Kingdom could not legally be forced to promote a message they fundamentally disagreed with. The case became known in the British and Irish media as the "gay cake" case.

Bayev and Others v. Russia was a case brought to the European Court of Human Rights by three Russian activists—Nikolay Bayev, Aleksei Aleksandrovich Kiselev, and Nikolay Alekseyev—alleging that the Russian gay propaganda law infringed on their freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. On 20 June 2017, the court ruled that the applicants' freedom of expression had been compromised. The only dissent was from Dmitry Dedov, the judge elected with respect to Russia.

References

  1. General Register Office England & Wales Birth Index 1916-2007 Volume 5c Page 1682
  2. "Navy List Research". www.navylistresearch.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  3. "The Officers Who Fought Homophobia In The Army - And Won". RightsInfo. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  4. "Lustig-Prean - Gays in the British Military". www.kentlaw.edu. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  5. "The Officers Who Fought Homophobia In The Army - And Won". RightsInfo. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  6. Correspondent, Tim Butcher, Defence (25 July 2000). "Gays win pay-out over sacking by Forces". Daily Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 18 June 2019.{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Gillan, Audrey (28 January 2000). "Gay sailor breaks silence". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  8. "European Court of Human Rights Judgement". European Court of Human Rights.