Dudgeon v United Kingdom: Difference between revisions
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'''''Dudgeon v. United Kingdom''''' was a [[European Court of Human Rights]] case, similar to the [[U.S.]] cases of ''[[Bowers v. Hardwick]] ''and'' [[Lawrence v. Texas]].'' |
'''''Dudgeon v. United Kingdom''''' was a [[European Court of Human Rights]] (ECHR) case, similar to the [[U.S.]] cases of ''[[Bowers v. Hardwick]] ''and'' [[Lawrence v. Texas]].'' |
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Jeffrey Dudgeon was a shipping clerk and gay activist in [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]], when he was interrogated by the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] about his sexual activities. He filed a complaint with the [[European Commission of Human Rights]], which declared his complaint admissible to the European Court of Human Rights. On [[22 October]] [[1981]], the Court agreed with the commission that Northern Ireland's criminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults was a violation of [[European Convention on Human Rights#Article 8 - right to respect for private life|Article 8]] of the [[European Convention on Human Rights]]. However, the ruling continued, "it was for countries to fix for themselves...any appropriate extension of the [[age of consent]] in relation to such conduct." |
Jeffrey Dudgeon was a shipping clerk and gay activist in [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]], when he was interrogated by the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] about his sexual activities. He filed a complaint with the [[European Commission of Human Rights]], which declared his complaint admissible to the European Court of Human Rights. On [[22 October]] [[1981]], the Court agreed with the commission that Northern Ireland's criminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults was a violation of [[European Convention on Human Rights#Article 8 - right to respect for private life|Article 8]] of the [[European Convention on Human Rights]]. However, the ruling continued, "it was for countries to fix for themselves...any appropriate extension of the [[age of consent]] in relation to such conduct." |
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As a consequence, male homosexual sex was [[decriminalised]] in Northern Ireland in [[1982]]. (Female homosexual behaviour was never criminal anywhere in the United Kingdom.) Male homosexual behaviour was previously decriminalised in [[England]] and [[Wales]] in [[1967]], and in [[Scotland]] in [[1980]]. It remained illegal in the neighbour [[Irish Republic]], however - ironically, under the same nineteenth century British law struck down by the ECHR in Northern Ireland - until [[1995]], following the ECHR decision in ''Norris v. Ireland'' (1993), for which ''Dudgeon'' was the keystone precedent. |
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As a consequence, homosexual sex was [[decriminalised]] in Northern Ireland in [[1982]]. |
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''Dudgeon v. United Kingdom'' was cited by Justice [[Anthony Kennedy]] in his opinion in the aforementioned ''Lawrence'' decision of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. |
''Dudgeon v. United Kingdom'' was cited by Justice [[Anthony Kennedy]] in his opinion in the aforementioned ''Lawrence'' decision of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. |
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Revision as of 11:54, 29 May 2008
Dudgeon v. United Kingdom was a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) case, similar to the U.S. cases of Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas.
Jeffrey Dudgeon was a shipping clerk and gay activist in Belfast, Northern Ireland, when he was interrogated by the Royal Ulster Constabulary about his sexual activities. He filed a complaint with the European Commission of Human Rights, which declared his complaint admissible to the European Court of Human Rights. On 22 October 1981, the Court agreed with the commission that Northern Ireland's criminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults was a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the ruling continued, "it was for countries to fix for themselves...any appropriate extension of the age of consent in relation to such conduct."
As a consequence, male homosexual sex was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 1982. (Female homosexual behaviour was never criminal anywhere in the United Kingdom.) Male homosexual behaviour was previously decriminalised in England and Wales in 1967, and in Scotland in 1980. It remained illegal in the neighbour Irish Republic, however - ironically, under the same nineteenth century British law struck down by the ECHR in Northern Ireland - until 1995, following the ECHR decision in Norris v. Ireland (1993), for which Dudgeon was the keystone precedent.
Dudgeon v. United Kingdom was cited by Justice Anthony Kennedy in his opinion in the aforementioned Lawrence decision of the Supreme Court of the United States.
See also
External links
- "Full text of Dudgeon v. the United Kingdom (1981)". European Court of Human Rights HUDOC Portal. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- Micheal T McLoughlin MA (December 1996). "Crystal or Glass?: A Review of Dudgeon v. United Kingdom on the Fifteenth Anniversary of the Decision". eLaw Journal. 3 (4). Murdoch: Murdoch University. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
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