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EHRC seeks permission to intervene in the European Court of Human Rights and proposes “reasonable accommodation” for religion in the workplace
14 July 2011
EHRC seeks permission to intervene in the European Court of Human Rights and proposes “reasonable accommodation” for religion in the workplace
The Equality and Human Rights Commission announced this week that it was seeking permission to intervene in the cases brought in the European Court of Human Rights by four Christians whose claims of discrimination had failed in the domestic tribunals and courts. The Commission’s decision was seen by the Daily Mail and others as a major change in its position and by Christian groups, including Christian Concern, as support for the claimants concerned.
The Commission has now clarified that the ECtHR does not permit interventions to support one party or to comment on the facts. If permitted to intervene, the EHRC will not support either party but simply seek to aid the court with the benefit of the Commission's policy input and interpretation of the law.
The purpose of an EHRC intervention is to explain that the law should consider how it may give better respect for religious rights within the workplace than has hitherto been the case, without diminishing the rights of others.
The Commission has said that it will seek views from stakeholders to inform its submission on what “reasonable accommodation” principles might entail and we have advised them that we would like to provide our views.
The applications to the ECtHR can be found at Eweida and Chaplin and Ladele and McFarlane. Since both cases involve many of the same points of law – in particular whether UK law failed to protect their rights to manifest their religion under Article 9 – the EHRC expects that they will be heard together.