CONFIDENTIAL
International Comparisons
-
16
-
機密
30.
In many countries the laws on homosexual behaviour
have been reformed over the years so that homosexual acts
between consenting adult men in private are no longer criminal
offences. The European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (21) has been, and remains, a
strong influence in this process of reform. In England and
Wales homosexual acts between consenting adult men in private
ceased to be criminal in 1967. The same approach was adopted
in Scotland in 1980.
31.
In Northern Ireland there was strong opposition to
liberalising the law. However, in 1981 the European Court of
Human Rights held that Northern Ireland's continuing laws
prohibiting homosexual acts between consenting adult males in
private was in breach of the Convention (22). The Convention
provides that everyone has the right to respect for his
private and family life and that a public authority may
interfere with this right only in the interests of national
security, public safety or the economic well-being of the
country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the
protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the
rights and freedoms of others. The law on homosexuality in
Northern Ireland was aligned with the rest of the United
Kingdom in 1982.
GF 323
CONFIDENTIAL
機密
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.