In landmark ruling, European Court of Human Rights orders Russia to allow same-sex unions

The Russian Federation is unlikely to obey the decision as it is no longer a member of the European Court of Human Rights, a result of its invasion of Ukraine.

By refusing any form of legal recognition and protection for same-sex couples, the Russian Federation breached the Convention

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More: https://www.courthousenews.com/in-landmark-ruling-european-rights-court-orders-russia-to-allow-same-sex-unions/

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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Tuesday ordered Russia to recognize same-sex unions. The ruling came in response to an appeal by three gay couples who were denied the ability to marry by Russian authorities. It remains to be seen whether Russia will implement the court’s ruling.

A bench of 17 judges presided over the proceedings. Twelve of the justices joined the court’s judgment while two partially dissented and three fully dissented.

Court President Judge Síofra O’Leary wrote in the judgment that Russian authorities’ conduct violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which reads:

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

In June 2010, the Strasbourg-based court ruled that the Convention allows for same-sex marriages but does not require states to perform them. While Tuesday’s ruling maintains that states are not required to recognize same-sex unions “in the form of marriages,” they still have to provide couples with a path to legal recognition.

The Russian government submitted that it was too early for the country to recognize same-sex unions as Russian society was not ready. In response, the Grand Chamber opined that the “Convention is a living instrument which must be interpreted in the light of present-day conditions and of the ideas prevailing in democratic States today”.

Russia has strict laws restricting the dissemination of so-called “LGBT propaganda.” These laws make it a crime to distribute information about LGBT relationships to children and to engage in some pro-LGBT speech. Russia previously ignored a 2013 ECHR ruling against these laws.

Currently, 30 out of the 46 member states of Council of Europe legally recognize same-sex unions. The remaining 16 include – Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Türkiye and Ukraine.

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UK government blocks Scotland gender reform bill

The UK Government Monday decided to block the Scottish Parliament’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, signed to make it easier for people to change their legally recognised gender. This action marks a constitutional first in UK history since this is the first time the UK government has used the Scotland Act 1998 to veto Scottish legislation.

Alister Jack, the Secretary of State for Scotland, applied for a section 35 order under the Scotland Act 1998 to block Royal Assent for the gender reform bill, which would prevent the bill from becoming law. The Gender Recognition Reform Act would have allowed children as young as 16 to change their gender without legal barriers.

Upon announcing his section 35 order, Jack said:

After thorough and careful consideration of all the relevant advice and the policy implications, I am concerned that this legislation would have an adverse impact on the operation of Great Britain-wide equalities legislation. Transgender people who are going through the process to change their legal sex deserve our respect, support and understanding. My decision today is about the legislation’s consequences for the operation of GB-wide equalities protections and other reserved matters.

Jack previously voiced concerns about the bill’s impact on women and children and its implications for national UK legislation, saying upon the bill’s passage:

We share the concerns that many people have regarding certain aspects of this bill and, in particular, the safety issues for women and children.

We will look closely at that, and also the ramifications for the Equality Act 2010 and other UK-wide legislation, in the coming weeks — up to and including a section 35 order stopping the bill going for royal assent if necessary.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has since tweeted her disdain for the move and said:

This is a full-frontal attack on our democratically elected Scottish Parliament and it’s ability to make it’s own decisions on devolved matters. @scotgov will defend the legislation & stand up for Scotland’s Parliament. If this Westminster veto succeeds, it will be first of many https://t.co/3WXrjyivvC

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 16, 2023

The Gender Recognition and Reform Act was initially passed on December 22, 2022 in an 86-39 Scottish Parliament vote, with Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party members constituting the vast majority of the bill’s opposition.

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ECJ rules against Polish workplace LGBTQ discrimination Sexual orientation cannot be a reason to refuse to conclude a contract with a self-employed worker The Directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation, which covers a wide range of occupational activities, establishes a general framework for combatting discrimination based, inter alia, on sexual orientation. Judgment: Click […]

ECJ rules against Polish workplace LGBTQ discrimination — International Law in Switzerland – Professor Andreas R Ziegler

«La recherche a besoin de plus de diversité» L’année dernière, deux prix Nobel ont été décernés ont été attribués à des scientifiques LGBTQ. Mirko Bischoffberger, «biologiste moléculaire, cinéaste et ancien directeur de la communication de l’EPFL», explique pourquoi cela devrait nous intéresser et pourquoi la discrimination entraîne une perte de connaissances. Click to access 08.01.2023-SonntagsBlick-Forschung-braucht-mehr-Diversita%CC%88t_dn0GOMECp.pdf

«La recherche a besoin de plus de diversité» — Andreas R. Ziegler

Barbados scraps ‘buggery’ and ‘serious indecency’ laws in ‘resounding victory’ for LGBTQ+ people

https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/12/13/barbados-ends-buggery-and-indecency-laws/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mypinknews&pnespid=sKA2UnlONLoD2vjLojKoF8uUpwOwXccqLOKl3bU4sQJm0ce0UEbHmc3FmfD9OmyikQuhtsuoFA

India inches closer to becoming next country to legalise same-sex marriage

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/01/03/india-same-sex-marriage-petition-inches-closer/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mypinknews&pnespid=tL5_GDZMLKwb26fDomnpH5zT50vxW8sqIuaj3rZ19U1mh4rmZLPw.KTHcCyjf9h9gwatI9jTvg

New interesting article: Nicholas Leddy, Investigative and Charging Considerations for International Crimes Targeting Individuals on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

The latest issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice (Vol. 20, no. 4, September 2022) is out. Contents include:

Nicholas Leddy, Investigative and Charging Considerations for International Crimes Targeting Individuals on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Applications open for the training on the UN human rights system for human rights defenders

International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) launched its application process for the new 2023 hybrid edition of the Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP), which will take place both remotely and in Geneva. The course equips human rights defenders with the knowledge and skills to integrate the UN human rights system into their existing work at the national level in a strategic manner, and provides an opportunity for participants to prepare for and engage in lobbying and advocacy activities at the UN with the aim to effect change back home. (Photo: ISHR) Read more and apply before 10 January.

USA: Florida court upholds school board’s policy blocking transgender student from using the male bathroom

Ruling 7 to 4, a Florida federal appeals court Friday reversed a lower court’s decision that a school board’s policy which prevents transgender students from using the bathroom that corresponds with the gender they identify with is unconstitutional.

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the policy of the school board in St. Johns County, Florida which separates school bathrooms based on biological sex did not violate the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX, contrary to previous rulings by the district court.

Drew Adams, who brought the claim, challenged the school board’s policy on the basis that it discriminated against transgender students by prohibited them from accessing the bathroom which reflects their gender identity. Adams, who identifies as male, was prohibited from using the male bathrooms and was informed by the school that he had to use either the communal female bathrooms or the single-stall, sex-neutral bathrooms.

The court ruled that policy was not discriminatory and based on the lawful recognition of the biological differences between sexes allowing the separation of bathrooms and other living facilities. This is expressly permitted by Title IX.

Writing for the majority, Republican-appointed Barbara Lagoa found that the policy had no “disparate impact” on transgender students and was based on an “important governmental objective” as:

The School Board’s bathroom is clearly related to…its objective of protecting the privacy interests of students to use the bathroom away from the opposite sex and to shield their bodies from the opposite sex…which, like a locker room or shower facility, is one of the spaces in a school where such bodily exposure is most likely to occur.

In a dissenting judgement, Democrat-appointed Jill Prior was critical of the majority’s reasoning, finding that the case “tells the story of a hauntingly familiar harm.” Adams was “forced to endure a stigmatizing and humiliating walk to shame” to use the gender neutral bathroom by a policy that “discriminates against transgender students by depriving them of a benefit that is provided to all cisgender students.” Prior went on to write that whilst the law recognizes a privacy interest of separating bathroom facilities by sex, “where exclusion implies inferiority, as it does here, principles of equality prevail.”

In reaction to the judgement, the Biden administration has urged the court to strike down the school’s policy.

It is expected that the Supreme Court will take up the issue.

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New interesting publication: Same-sex marriage as a human right: How the Strasbourg Court could draw inspiration from the US Supreme Court and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to … (G Willems – Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 2022)

More: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/1530