ECHR Decides Against Freedom of Religion in Three Cases, in Favour of One
On January 15th, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the four UK Freedom of Religion cases: one was ruled in favour and three against. The decision of the Court is not yet final and can be appealed to the Grand Chamber of the Court.
The applicants, Nadia Eweida, Shirley Chaplin, Lilian Ladele and Gary McFarlane, are British nationals who were born respectively in 1951, 1955, 1960 and 1961. They live in Twickenham, Exeter, London and Bristol, respectively.All four applicants are practising Christians who complain that UK law did not sufficiently protect their rights to freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination at work.
Ms Eweida, a British Airways employee, and Ms Chaplin, a geriatrics nurse, complain that their employers placed restrictions on their visibly wearing Christian crosses around their necks while at work. Ms Ladele, a Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, and Mr McFarlane, a Relate counsellor, complain about their dismissal for refusing to carry out certain of their duties which they considered would condone homosexuality.
Only in the case of Nadia Eweida, the court held that British Airways had not struck a fair balance between Ms Eweida's religious beliefs and the company's wish to "project a certain corporate image". Thereby, Ms Eweida’s right under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights was violated. The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe intervened as a third party.
The court ruled the rights of three others had not been violated by their employers: when it comes to competing rights, the court allows member states to balance. While this is very frustrating for countries like the UK, which continue to balance against religious freedom, the Court has not issued a blanket rule that sexual orientation must always trump religious freedom. Read here an analysis of the Observatory Further information: Press Release of Alliance Defending Freedom Press Release of the European Center for Law and Justice Report on BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21025332