“A New Form of Discrimination”: Civil Partnerships for Different-Sex Couples in the UK Supreme Court
Civil partnerships were introduced by the New Labour government in the UK in 2005 to give same-sex couples many of the protections and rights afforded to married couples without actually...
Are Christian bakers part of the wedding cakes they make; and what follows if they are?
Is making a cake for a gay wedding the same as making a cake with an anti-gay message? This equivalence was drawn by conservative judge, Justice Gorsuch, in the US...
Adrian Coman v. Romania: A Small Victory with Wasted Potential
On 5 June 2018, the CJEU released its much-anticipated judgment on Adrian Coman and Others v. Romania. This followed from Advocate General Wathelet’s Opinion on 11 January 2018. In the...
Masterpiece Cakeshop and Discriminatory Intent
On July 19, 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins visited Masterpiece Cakeshop in suburban Colorado, asking the owner, Jack Phillips, to design and create a cake for their upcoming wedding....
Fighting for the Right to Donate Blood: Reviewing Changes to the UK’s Separate, but Equal, Policy Towards LGBT+
The UK’s current policy guidelines on donating blood have a complex history of misassumptions and homophobic rhetoric that, to this day, still requires people to divulge intimate information around their...
Cakes and the Conscience Wars
Last week, the U.K. Supreme Court heard argument in Lee v. Ashers Baking Company. The case involves a baker whose Christian beliefs led him to refuse to bake a cake...
A Step Closer to Equality: LGBTQ+ Rights in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
In a landmark advisory opinion delivered on January 9th, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights stated that the twenty-three states parties to the American Human Rights Convention must legalize same-sex...
Decriminalising homosexuality in India: The Long, Twisted Road of Section 377
Section 377, Indian Penal Code: Unnatural offences – Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for...
Same-Sex Marriage in Australia: A Bittersweet Victory
In a giant step forward for LGBTIQ rights, same-sex marriage (SSM) in Australia was legalised on 7 December 2017. This result was uplifting, but also bittersweet. The Australian Government could...
Landmark human rights decision to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada
Next week, a longstanding dispute pitting fundamental freedoms against one another is set to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). Trinity Western University (TWU) is a private,...
QT v Director of Immigration: recognising overseas same-sex marriages and civil partnerships in immigration policy
On 25 September 2017, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal ruled that partners in overseas same-sex marriages and civil partnerships are eligible to apply for spousal dependant visas in Hong...
The Indian Supreme Court’s “Curative” Hearing in the “LGBT Case”
In 2009, the High Court of Delhi decriminalized same-sex relations between consenting adults in India, holding that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which penalised “carnal intercourse against the...
