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Euro Court to Denounce Military Ban

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London--The Ministry of Defense will face the most serious legal challenge to its policy of banning gays from serving in the United Kingdom's armed forces tomorrow (18 May).

The case is being brought by the four ex-armed forces personnel who have previously challenged the ban in the High Court and Court of Appeal. It will have its full and final hearing before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

When the case was heard at the High Court, the Lord Justice, Simon Brown, expressed the view that the blanket ban might well constitute a violation of the European Convention. In his words "the days of this policy are numbered."

In declaring the case admissible earlier this year, the Court considered four possible violations of the European Convention on Human Rights:

A denial of the human rights to privacy

To freedom of expression and

To freedom from discrimination

And "Inhuman or degrading treatment"

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If the case is successful, Britain's military would be forced to lift the ban by the end of this year.

The applicants are represented by Bindman & Partners, Wansboroughs, Willey & Hargrave, and Liberty. Counsel for the applicants are David Pannick QC and Ben Emmerson.

Angela Mason, Executive Director of Stonewall, said: "We welcome the opportunity to put our case before the European Court of Human Rights. We have always believed that this is a human rights issue. The ban is inhumane, unnecessary and wrong."

Stephen Grosz, of Bindman & Partners, said: " The ban will at last be tested against the benchmark of fundamental human rights. We are confident that the Court will find it unsustainable."

Duncan Lustig-Prean of Rank Outsiders, the support and campaign group for ex-personnel, said: "The Armed Forces exist to defend the rights of all in a democracy. They should not themselves ride roughshod over minority communities. People should be judged on merit and ability, not an artificial and irrelevant label."

Notes: The 'armed forces four' (R v MoD, ex parte Smith) are Jeanette Smith (ex-RAF nurse), John Beckett (ex-naval rating), Graeme Grady (ex-RAF clerk) and Duncan Lustig-Prean (ex-naval Lieutenant Commander).

The four possible violations of the European Convention are of: Article 3, "inhumane or degrading treatment"; Article 8, the "right to privacy"; Article 10, "freedom of expression"; and Article 14, "freedom from discrimination".