Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others
Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others | |
---|---|
Court | Supreme Court of the United Kingdom |
Full case name | Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others |
Decided | 2018 |
Neutral citation | [2018] UKSC 49 |
Holding | |
People cannot be forced to promote a belief they profoundly disagree with | |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Lord Mance (Lady Hale of Richmond, Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, Lord Hodge and Lady Black of Derwent concurred) |
Area of law | |
discrimination, compelled speech |
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.[1] 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.[2] The court held that people in the United Kingdom could not legally be forced to promote a message they fundamentally disagreed with.[3] The case became known in the British and Irish media as the "gay cake" case.[1][4]
Background
In 2014 Gareth Lee, a gay rights activist, placed an order with Ashers Baking Company, a Belfast bakery,[5] for a cake decorated with the slogan "support gay marriage" as same-sex marriage was illegal in Northern Ireland at the time.[6][7] The McArthurs, who are Christians, declined the order and refunded Lee's money, saying they could not make a cake that supported something they found offensive to their religious beliefs. Lee complained to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland that he had been directly discriminated against on the grounds of his sexual orientation, and the Equality Commission supported him in filing a discrimination lawsuit against Ashers and the McArthurs. The county court found in Lee's favour and fined Ashers £500 in damages.
The case received considerable media attention. The human rights activist Peter Tatchell initially supported the county court decision, but later changed his mind, stating that he supported the McArthurs' right not to be forced to promote a message they disagree with.[5] The actor Patrick Stewart supported Ashers, telling the BBC: "It was not because this was a gay couple that they objected ...It was the actual words on the cake that they objected to, because they found them offensive. And I would support their right to say ‘no this is personally offensive to my beliefs, I will not do it’."[8]
Ashers appealed to the
Case
The Supreme Court considered first whether the McArthurs had discriminated against Lee on the basis of his sexual orientation. The court found that the McArthurs did not refuse to make the cake on the grounds of Lee's personal sexual orientation but on the grounds that they disagreed with the message they were being asked to put on it.[2] They ruled there was no direct discrimination.[2] The court also considered associative discrimination, but again ruled that there was no discrimination on the basis of Lee's sexual orientation, as the McArthurs did not refuse service on those personal grounds. They ruled that the McArthurs would have refused to make the cake carrying the message for any customer regardless of the customer's sexual orientation.[2]
The court then considered whether it was political discrimination under the
Judgment
Reaction
Ashers said the judgment was a victory for freedom of speech and religious expression. The Attorney-General of Northern Ireland supported the decision.[1] Gareth Lee said "I’m very confused about what this actually means. We need certainty when you go to a business. I'm concerned that this has implications for myself and for every single person."[13] Lee stated he felt like a "second class citizen" as a result.[14]
The
Michael Wardlow, the head of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland said, "...This judgment leaves a lack of clarity in equality law. Our understanding of certainty of the law has been overturned. The supreme court seems to see this as something that should be done on a case-by-case basis."[13] John O'Doherty, the director of Northern Ireland's largest support organisation for LGBT people, the Rainbow Project, said "We believe this is direct discrimination for which there can be no justification. We will, however, take time to study this judgment by the supreme court to understand fully its implications for the rights of LGBT people to access goods, facilities and services without discrimination."[13]
European Court of Human Rights challenge
In August 2019, Lee instructed his lawyers to challenge the Supreme Court's ruling at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).[17] In March 2020, the European Court communicated the case with the British government,[18] On 6 January 2022, the court dismissed Lee's case as "inadmissible" as Lee had not invoked his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights "at any point in the domestic proceedings" in the British courts.[19]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Ashers 'gay cake' row: Bakers win Supreme Court appeal". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Lee (Respondent) v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others (Appellants) (Northern Ireland) and two references by the AG for NI of devolution issues to the Supreme Court pursuant to paragraph 34 of Schedule 10 to the NI Act 1998" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Equality Commission boss defends £500,000 legal bill for Ashers "gay cake" case". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "ECHR rule Belfast bakery "gay cake" case application inadmissible". RTÉ News. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ a b Tatchell, Peter. "I've changed my mind on the gay cake row. Here's why". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Lyra McKee's partner challenges UK government on same-sex marriage". The Guardian. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
- ^ "Same-sex marriage now legal in Northern Ireland". BBC News. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Sir Patrick Stewart: 'I'm on the side of Ashers'". Christian Institute. 14 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Adeogun, Eno (10 October 2018). "Ashers bakery victory - the timeline". Premier Radio. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Attorney General John Larkin backs Ashers in gay cake appeal". Newsletter. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Northern Ireland Attorney General says treatment of Ashers over 'gay cake' order 'wrong'". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "'Gay cake': Ashers Bakery case heard at Supreme Court". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ a b c Bowcott, Owen (10 October 2018). "UK supreme court backs bakery that refused to make gay marriage cake". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "'Gay cake' Supreme Court ruling reaction". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Independent Catholic News (10 October 2018). "C4M welcomes Supreme Court ruling in 'gay cake' case". ICN. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Ashers wins landmark Supreme Court 'gay cake' case". Christian.org.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- Guardian Online.Retrieved 15 August 2019
- ^ "Lee v. UK (European Court of Human Rights)". hudoc.echr.coe.int. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ Flanagan, Eimear (6 January 2022). "Ashers 'gay cake' case: European court rules case inadmissible". BBC News. Retrieved 6 January 2022.