Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) v The Charity Commission for England and Wales

On 26th April 2011 the First-tier Tribunal (Charity) handed down judgment in this case relating to the refusal of a catholic charity to offer its adoption services to same sex couples.  The charity had appealed against the Charity Commission’s decision to refuse permission to the charity to amend its objects clause so as to permit discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.  The Tribunal dismissed the charity’s appeal, holding that the proposed discrimination did not constitute a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim for the purposes of ECHR Article 14.
Emma Dixon was counsel for the Charity Commission.