| Smith and Grady v UK | |
|---|---|
| Court | European Court of Human Rights |
| Decided | 27 September 1999 |
| Citations |
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| Case history | |
| Prior actions | R v Ministry of Defence, ex p Smith [1996] QB 517 |
| Keywords | |
| Right to A Private Life, Homosexuality in the Military | |
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| LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom |
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Smith and Grady v UK (1999) 29 EHRR 493 was a notable decision of the European Court of Human Rights that unanimously found that the investigation into and subsequent discharge of personnel from HM Forces on the basis they were homosexual was a breach of their right to a private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision, which caused widespread controversy at the time[1] led the UK to adopt a revised sexual-orientation-free Armed Forces Code of Social Conduct in January 2000.[2] In UK law the decision is notable because the applicants' case had previously been dismissed in both the High Court and Court of Appeal, who had found that the authorities' actions had not violated the principles of legality including Wednesbury unreasonableness,[3] thus highlighting the difference in approach of the European Court of Human Rights and the domestic courts.
- ^ "Delight and despair at gay ban ruling". BBC. 27 September 1999. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
- ^ Armed Forces Code of Social Conduct, retrieved 28 December 2009.
- ^ Mowbray, Alasdair (2007). Cases and Materials on the European Convention on Human Rights. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-920674-2.