Date: 04-Dec-09 by Charles Dean
Islington Council has welcomed a legal ruling in its favour in the case of Lillian Ladele, the registrar who refused to conduct Civil Partnerships between same sex couples.
The Court of Appeal today (15 December) dismissed an appeal by Ms Ladele, ruling Islington Council had acted lawfully in expecting all its registrars to perform the ceremonies and indeed had a duty to require them to do so.
The Court of Appeal refused permission for Ms Ladele to appeal their decision to the Supreme Court and awarded costs to Islington Council.
Cllr Ruth Polling, Executive Member for Equalities, Islington Council said:
"This is very welcome news. The judgement is the right one as it confirms all public sector employees must carry out their duties without discrimination and Islington was right to insist this of all our staff.
"We are delighted it provides much-needed clarity for employers across the country."
The council had earlier lost an Employment Tribunal case brought by Ms Ladele alleging that her employers had failed to accommodate her religious views and that this amounted to discrimination.
However, the Employment Tribunal decision was overturned by an Employment Appeal Tribunal on 19 December 2008.
Ms Ladele then appealed to the Court of Appeal against the Employment Appeal Tribunal Decision.
Page Last Updated: 15 December 2009