The UK Supreme Court and the Gay Marriage Cake: Is ‘Indissociability’ Half-baked?
Giving the judgment of the court in Lee v Ashers Baking Co (2018), Lady Hale discusses ‘indissociability’ when determining whether direct discrimination has occurred. Indissociability refers to circumstances in which...
Veil of Discord: France’s Approach to Religious Clothing Condemned by the United Nations Human Rights Committee
In three decisions issued on 10 August 2018 and 23 October 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) found that France violated rights guaranteed under the International Covenant on...
The Consequences of the Ashers Cake Judgment
The Supreme Court has allowed the appeal by Belfast bakery Ashers Bakery and its managers Mr and Mrs McArthur in refusing to bake a cake for Gareth Lee, who had...
Indian Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Women’s Entry into Religious Temple
Recently, a (4:1) majority of a five-judge bench of the Indian Supreme Court in Indian Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala upheld the right of women to worship in the...
Religious symbols in schools: Passive and harmless or a powerful threat?
In Lautsi v Italy (2012), the applicant argued that the presence of crucifixes in state school classrooms violated students’ Article 9 ECHR right to religious freedom, but the ECtHR deemed...
The EU Can do More to Protect Religious Freedom
On 4 September 2018, the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance presented its fourth Annual Report on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The Report...
The Sabarimala Temple Ban: An ‘Untouchable’ Rule
On 1st August, 2018, the Supreme Court of India concluded its hearing on a crucial matter regarding the Sabrimala Temple in the State of Kerala. The case deals with the...
Canadian Supreme Court Deeply Divided on Religious Freedom in Faith-Based Law School Cases
Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) wrote the final chapter of a years-long saga concerning the fate of a proposed law school at Trinity Western University (TWU),...
#NotMarriedat11: Legal Failures to Protect Children from Child Marriage in Malaysia
With the recent highlighting of yet another case of child marriage in Malaysia, where a 41 year old man married an 11 year old girl, the prevalence of child marriage...
A Masterpiece of Judicial Avoidance?
Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 584 U.S. (2018), the U.S. Supreme Court’s blockbuster case, has been decided. The questions in dispute: 1. Can a person, exercising religious...
Suffering in Silence: The Persecution of the Ahmadiyas in Pakistan
An appalling humanitarian crisis is gripping Pakistan where violent extremism has shrouded religious tolerance and the government itself is being guided by extremist ideologies. Victims of this aggressive form of...
HM Chief Inspector v Interim Executive of Al-Hijrah School: Religious Conviction is Not a Solvent of Legal Obligation
The most interesting feature of the case of HM Chief Inspector v Interim Executive of Al Hijrah School [2018] IRLR 334 is the split between the reasoning of the majority...
