Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Delight at humanist court ruling
AN Appeal Court ruling has been hailed as paving the way for legally recognised non-religious marriages.
A model and international footballer won the right to have a lawful humanist wedding in Northern Ireland last year.
But the couple failed yesterday to uphold a judicial declaration that the existing prohibition is incompatible with human rights legislation.
However, Laura Lacole, who took the case with her husband, Leeds United and Republic of Ireland star Eunan O’kane, insisted the judgment was still positive for humanists as judges pointed to an alternative path to secure lawful unions.
The three Appeal Court judges found a prohibition on humanist celebrants performing legally-binding ceremonies in the region would be discriminatory.
However, they stopped short of declaring the law incompatible with human rights, explaining an existing provision enabling couples to apply for temporary authorisation for celebrants to conduct humanist marriages “provides a basis for avoiding such discrimination”.
The court in Belfast said the definition of legal marriages did not need to be expanded to incorporate specific “beliefs” such as humanist.
But judges indicated the General Register
Office should now look favourably on future applications for temporary authorisations.
Despite technically losing the case, Ms Lacole welcomed that finding as a “step forward”, insisting a precedent had been set for couples to have legally recognised humanist weddings in the region.
She said: “The fact we are now walking away having the door be opened for the non-religious in Northern Ireland to have a humanist ceremony befitting of their beliefs is amazing.
“So other people can ultimately have the wedding we had, and that was the goal – so we are really happy.”
In the couple’s original High Court victory last year, the trial judge ruled the law should be altered to include the term “or beliefs” among definitions of religious ceremonies.
The appeal by Attorney General John Larkin, Stormont’s Department of Finance and the GRO was allowed yesterday. Mr O’kane was not in court for the short hearing.
The couple’s lawyer Ciaran Moynagh drew positives from the judgment, while Humanists UK chief Andrew Copson said: “We are delighted at the outcome of this hearing, which will enable thousands of couples to get married in a way that is personal and meaningful to them.”
YESTERDAY