Underrating human rights: Gallagher v Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Human Rights Act 1998 has led to an increase in domestic litigation concerning Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Most such cases have been unsuccessful, particularly at higher level. Moreover, such claims have increasingly failed due to lack of interference under Article 9(1) rather than on grounds of justification under Article 9(2). This has meant that litigants in religious dress cases are now arguing anything but Article 9: the most recent case, concerning the wearing of the Sikh Kara in Aberdare, was successful because, while the school saw the issue as one concerning Article 9, the claimant's legal team relied instead on race and religious discrimination laws. It is not surprising, therefore, that the House of Lords rejected the most recent argument made on grounds of Articles 9 and 14. It is the merits of that argument and the haste displayed in its rejection that are the focus of this brief comment