Homosexuality and the European Court of Human Rights is the first book-length study of the Court’s jurisprudence in respect of sexual orientation. It offers a socio-legal analysis of the substantial number of decisions and judgments of the Strasbourg organs on the wide range of complaints brought by gay men and lesbians under the European Convention on Human Rights. Providing a systematic analysis of Strasbourg case law since 1955 and examining decades of decisions that have hitherto remained obscure, the book considers the evolution of the Court’s interpretation of the Convention and how this has fashioned lesbian and gay rights in Europe. Going beyond doctrinal analysis by employing a nuanced sociological consideration of Strasbourg jurisprudence, Paul Johnson shows how the Court is a site at which homosexuality is both socially constructed and regulated. He argues that although the Convention is conceived as a ‘living instrument’ to be interpreted ‘in the light of present-day conditions’ the Court’s judgments have frequently forged and advanced new social conditions in respect of homosexuality. Johnson argues that the Court’s jurisprudence has an extra-legal importance because it provides an authoritative and powerful discursive resource that can be mobilized by lesbians and gay men to challenge homophobic and heteronormative social relations in contemporary societies. As such, the book considers how the Court’s interpretation of the Convention might be evolved in the future to better protect lesbian and gay rights and lives.

Homosexuality: A European Community Issue is a groundbreaking study of the situation of lesbians and gay men in the European Community and how this will be affected by the evolution of the EC into the European Union. It provides a cogent analysis of the social, legal and economic discrimination against homosexual men and women, their organisations and businesses. Twelve authors from different academic backgrounds investigate if, where, and how the European Community institutions are competent to combat discrimination against lesbians and gay men. The authors deal extensively with many policy areas in which the EC plays a prominent role, such as sex equality, free movement of persons, goods and services, employment and family policy. Homosexuality: A European Community Issue is the first comprehensive study into this rapidly developing area of policy making. This eminently readable volume will serve as an indispensable reference book for academics, activists and policy makers for many years to come. An index of relevant legislation, case-law and extensive cross-referencing guarantee it will be of great practical use to anyone interested in lesbian and gay rights in the European Community.

Finally—a comparative overview of sexuality and human rights issues and law! Human rights issues exist globally, particularly when they have to do with sexuality. Sexuality and Human Rights: A Global Overview focuses on the controversial issues of human sexuality and the legal challenges that LGBT individuals face. Internationally recognized legal experts thoroughly discuss the status of important human rights laws pertaining to sexuality from around the world. Reviewing the progression from historical foundations and shifting public opinions through the most recent landmark legal cases, this is an essential resource on the present state of human rights laws and sexuality. This unique, up-to-date examination of the legal issues involving LGBT individuals’ rights around the world reviews the latest rulings, such as the adoption of minors by homosexual or bisexual parents, the legal acceptance of marriage between same-sex couples, whether the gender-reassigned can be legally considered their true gender identity, and much, much more. Sexuality and Human Rights: A Global Overview illustrates the journey our worldwide legal systems have traveled, and the path stretching before them, until the destination of equality and acceptance in sexuality may finally be reached. Well-referenced, comprehensive, and yet accessible to the general reader, this book provides a crucial, provocative look at just what basic sexual human rights means in today’s laws. Some of the topics of Sexuality and Human Rights: A Global Overview include: perspectives and objectives to challenge discrimination sexuality and international human rights law sexuality and human rights in Australian law transsexuals issues in European human rights law sexual orientation and gender identity legal issues in North America the present state of sexuality and human rights in European law the Asian legal perspective on sexuality and human rights laws pertaining to sexual identity issues Sexuality and Human Rights: A Global Overview is a vital reference source for law educators, law students, gay rights activists, and law reformers.

This book undertakes a critical analysis of international human rights law through the lens of queer theory. It pursues two main aims: first, to make use of queer theory to illustrate that the field of human rights law is underpinned by several assumptions that determine a conception of the subject that is gendered and sexual in specific ways. This gives rise to multiple legal and social consequences, some of which challenge the very idea of universality of human rights. Second, the book proposes that human rights law can actually benefit from a better understanding of queer critiques, since queer insights can help it to overcome heteronormative beliefs currently held. In order to achieve these main aims, the book focuses on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the leading legal authority in the field of international human rights law. The use of queer theory as the theoretical approach for these tasks serves to deconstruct several aspects of the Court's jurisprudence dealing with gender, sexuality, and kinship, to later suggest potential paths to reconstruct such features in a queer(er) and more universal manner.

In the last fifteen years constitutional issues regarding the rights of gays, lesbians and same-sex couples have emerged on a global scale. The pace of recognition of their fundamental rights, both at judicial and legislative level, has dramatically increased across different jurisdictions, reflecting a growing consensus toward sexual orientation equality. This book considers a wide-range of decisions by constitutional and international courts, from the decriminalization of sexual acts to the recognition of same-sex marriage and parental rights for same-sex couples. It discusses analogies and differences in judicial arguments and rationales in such cases, focusing in particular on human dignity, privacy, liberty, equality and non-discrimination. It argues that courts operate as major exporters of models and principles and that judicial cross-fertilization also helps courts in increasing the acceptability of gays' and lesbians' rights in public opinions and politics. Courts discuss changes in the social perception of marriage and family at national and international levels and at the same time confirm and reinforce them, forging the legal debate over sexual orientation equality. Furthermore, by promoting the political reception of the achievements of foreign gay movements in their own jurisdictions, courts play an essential role in breaking the political stalemate.

Since its inception, the European Convention on Human Rights has been a beacon of hope to gay men and lesbians in Europe. Going to Strasbourg: An Oral History of Sexual Orientation Discrimination and the European Convention on Human Rights provides a comprehensive account of how individuals in the United Kingdom have utilized the Convention, by way of making applications to its organs in Strasbourg in order to challenge sexual orientation discrimination. Combining an exhaustive analysis of Strasbourg case law with nineteen unique oral histories of applicants, legal professionals, and campaigners, this book is the definitive history of the role that 'going to Strasbourg' has played in eradicating discrimination and establishing legal equality on the grounds of sexual orientation in the UK.

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