Last month, the Scottish Court of Session ruled that the Scottish government’s decision to ban public worship in light of the coronavirus pandemic was both unconstitutional and a disproportionate interference with the Article 9 right to freedom of religion or belief, as protected by the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
Compared to other jurisdictions, the Scottish Government’s recent measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have been especially strict. With the arrival of a new and more deadly variant of COVID-19 in late 2020, the Scottish Ministers (the executive) declared a second national lockdown on 5 January 2021. This involved the closure of all hospitality venues and the prohibition of all indoor and outdoor gatherings, allowing citizens to only leave the house for essential purposes such as shopping, exercise, and meeting up with one other person outdoors. Public worship, however, was caught in the crossfire. While in England public worship could continue during their national lockdown, the Scottish Government decided to close Churches on 8th January 2020. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland condemned the Scottish Government’s decision to close to Churches.
Not very long after these regulations were imposed, two groups (petitioners) sought to challenge the ban of public worship in the courts. The petitioner was a group of protestant clergymen from various confessions and the additional petitioner was a Catholic priest from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, Canon Thomas White. Both parties were invited to present their submissions before the Outer House of the Court of Session on the 11th and 12th March. The decision was handed down on the 24th March, where Lord Braid ruled in favour of the petitioners. Continue reading “Scots Law, Dyarchy, and Judicial Restraint”