Appeal of a gay rights activist in a long-running dispute over the cake of the European Court of Human Rights ruled “inadmissibility” | UK news

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Northern Ireland gay rights activist Gareth Lee’s complaint that he was discriminated against when the Christian owners of a Belfast bakery refused to make him an iced cake with the slogan “support gay marriage” have been ruled by the European Courts of Human Rights not accepting it.

The European Court of Human Rights said it had declared, by majority, that the request was “inadmissible” on a point of law.

The Christian owners of a bakery in Belfast told Mr. Lee that they would not make the cake featuring the Sesame Street dolls and the logo of campaign group QueerSpace because of their religious beliefs.

The UK High Court ruled in 2018 that the Northern Ireland activist was not discriminated against by the owners of Ashers Bakery in Belfast, Daniel and Amy MacArthur.

Mr. Lee then referred the case to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), claiming that the Supreme Court had failed to give it appropriate weight.

Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

But the court said in its ruling on Thursday: “Arguments relating to the Convention must be raised explicitly or substantively before the local authorities.”

She added, “The plaintiff did not invoke his rights under the agreement at any time in the domestic proceedings.

Relying solely on local law, the plaintiff denied the local courts the opportunity to address any issues raised in the agreement, and instead asks the court to usurp the role of the local courts.

“Because he failed to exhaust domestic remedies, the request was inadmissible.”

big controversy

The big controversy dates back to May 2014 when Mr Lee, a member of gay advocacy group Queer Space, ordered a £36.50 cake featuring Sesame Street dolls Burt and Ernie at a special party marking the International Day Against Homophobia from Ashers bakery in Belfast.

His request was accepted and the price paid in full. However, the Christian owners of the company contacted Mr. Lee to say they could not proceed due to the requested letter.

Photo: Ashers Bakery on Royal Street in Belfast

With the support of the Northern Ireland Equality Commission, Mr. Lee brought a legal case alleging discrimination based on his sexual orientation.

He won hearings in the District Court and the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal in 2015 and 2016.

But the MacArthur family challenged those rulings in the Supreme Court, backed by Christian Institute, and in 2018, five justices unanimously decided they did not discriminate against the client.

The MacArthur family believed that “the only form of marriage compatible with scripture and acceptable to God is between a man and a woman,” said Lady Hale, then-president of the court.

She added: “With regard to Mr. Lee’s claim of sexism, the bakers did not refuse to carry out his order because of his sexual orientation.

“They would refuse to serve such a cake to any client, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Photo: Daniel and Amy MacArthur previously said they felt like ‘the victim’

“Their objection was to the message on the cake, not the personality traits of Mr. Li or anyone else associated with him.”

At the time, Mr. Lee said that refusing to make the cake made him feel like a “second-class citizen”.

reaction to the verdict

The Christian Institute on Thursday welcomed the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that a complaint in the “gay cake” case was inadmissible.

“This is the correct result,” spokesman Simon Calvert said.

“The UK Supreme Court has been deeply involved in the human rights arguments in this case and has upheld MacArthur’s rights to freedom of expression and religion.

“It was disappointing to see yet another attempt to undermine those rights, so it is comforting that the attempt failed.”

He said he was “surprised” that anyone wanted “to repeal a provision that protects gay business owners from being forced to promote views they don’t share as much as it protects Christian business owners.”

Mr. Calvert continued: “Lawyers, commentators and free speech experts from across the spectrum have welcomed the October 2018 ruling by five of the country’s most distinguished and experienced judges.

“They all knew of the implications for freedom of speech and religion, had the decision been made against Ashers.

“This is good news for free speech, good news for Christians, and good news for the MacArthurs.”

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