Kingston’s (Duchess) Case: 1776

The judgment of a court of concurrent jurisdiction, directly upon the point, is as a plea, a bar, or as evidence, conclusive between the same parties coming incidentaly in question in another court for a different purpose. The principle of litigation privilege is restricted to legal advice.

Citations:

(1776) 1 East PC 468, (1776) 20 ST 336

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedPenn-Texas Corporation v Murat Anstalt (No 2) CA 1964
The court considered a claim for an issue estoppel arising from a foreign judgment: ‘In my opinion a previous judgment between the same parties is only conclusive on matters which are conclusive and necessary to the decision. It is not conclusive on . .
CitedThree Rivers District Council and others v Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 6) HL 11-Nov-2004
The Bank anticipated criticism in an ad hoc enquiry which was called to investigate its handling of a matter involving the claimant. The claimant sought disclosure of the documents created when the solicitors advised employees of the Bank in . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Estoppel, Legal Professions

Updated: 07 December 2022; Ref: scu.188235

Walwyn v Awberry: 1677

A lay rector brought an action for trespass because the local Bishop had sequestered his tithes on account of his failure to obey an admonition to repair the chancel of the parish church. The issue was whether sequestration was an available remedy.
Held: It was not. It was agreed by all, that an impropriator is chargeable with the repairs of the chancel; but the charge was not personal but in regard of the profits of the impropriation.

Judges:

Atkins J

Citations:

(1677) 2 Mod 254

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedParochial Church Council of the Parish of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley, Warwickshire v Wallbank and another HL 26-Jun-2003
Parish Councils are Hybrid Public Authorities
The owners of glebe land were called upon as lay rectors to contribute to the cost of repairs to the local church. They argued that the claim was unlawful by section 6 of the 1998 Act as an act by a public authority incompatible with a Convention . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 07 December 2022; Ref: scu.184049

Forbes v Eden: 1865

A clergyman complained of a change in the doctrinal standards of the church.
Held: Since the matter concerned an eccliastical issue and not that he had been deprived of his status as a minister, the court could not intervene. Lord Justice-Clerk Inglis said that the possession of a particular status, meaning by that term the capacity to perform certain functions or to hold certain offices, is a thing which the law recognises as a patrimonial interest, and that no one could be deprived of its possession by the unlawful act of another without having a legal remedy.

Judges:

Lord Justice-Clerk Inglis

Citations:

(1865) 4 M 143

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal fromForbes v Eden HL 1867
Decision affirmed . .
CitedPercy v Church of Scotland Board of National Mission HL 15-Dec-2005
The claimant appealed after her claim for sex discrimination had failed. She had been dismissed from her position an associate minister of the church. The court had found that it had no jurisdiction, saying that her appointment was not an . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 05 December 2022; Ref: scu.236516

Barnes v Derby Diocesan Board of Finance and Another: ChD 14 Nov 2002

Permission was sought to sell land within to the parish, and directions sought as to the application of the proceeds of sale.
Held: The land had been transferred to the diocesan board of finance on the merger of two parishes, and was held for parochial or diocesan purposes. This was not special property, and since it was no longer needed, it could be sold, but the proceeds were to be applied within the parish and not for general purposes of the diocese.

Judges:

Etherton J

Citations:

Times 22-Nov-2002

Statutes:

Pastoral Measure 1983 31(1)(1)(d)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical, Land, Charity

Updated: 05 December 2022; Ref: scu.178290

Suryananda, Regina (on the Application of) v The Welsh Ministers: Admn 16 Jul 2007

The claimants, trustees of a Hindu temple, sought judicial review of a decision that a bullock in their temple should be slaughtered having positively reacted to a test for bovine tuberculosis bacterium. They said that the animal posed no threat since it was isolated from other anmals and was sacrosanct to them.
Held: The article 9 human rights of the claimants were engaged, and the proposed action would be a gross interference in those rights. It was therefore for the respondent to justify the action by showing a pressing social need. The decision had been reached without sufficient regard to the claimants’ religious freedoms, and would be quashed. The court noted however that a properly reached decision might be the same.

Judges:

Hickinbottom J

Citations:

[2007] EWHC 1736 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Animal Health Act 1981 32

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedX v Netherlands ECHR 1962
As a legitimate aim, a Government may rely upon ‘the protection of public . . health’, which includes the health of animals as well as of humans. . .
CitedRegina v Secretary of State for Education and Employment and others ex parte Williamson and others HL 24-Feb-2005
The appellants were teachers in Christian schools who said that the blanket ban on corporal punishment interfered with their religious freedom. They saw moderate physical discipline as an essential part of educating children in a Christian manner. . .
CitedDe Freitas v The Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Lands and Housing and others PC 30-Jun-1998
(Antigua and Barbuda) The applicant was employed as a civil servant. He joined a demonstration alleging corruption in a minister. It was alleged he had infringed his duties as a civil servant, and he replied that the constitution allowed him to . .
CitedBegum (otherwise SB), Regina (on the Application of) v Denbigh High School HL 22-Mar-2006
The student, a Muslim wished to wear a full Islamic dress, the jilbab, but this was not consistent with the school’s uniform policy. She complained that this interfered with her right to express her religion.
Held: The school’s appeal . .
CitedRegina (Daly) v Secretary of State for the Home Department HL 23-May-2001
A prison policy requiring prisoners not to be present when their property was searched and their mail was examined was unlawful. The policy had been introduced after failures in search procedures where officers had been intimidated by the presence . .
CitedRegina v Secretary of State for Health ex parte Eastside Cheese Company (a Firm) and R A Duckett and Co Interested CA 1-Jul-1999
Application for leave to appeal to House of Lords – refused. However ‘on public health issues which require the evaluation of complex scientific evidence, the national court may and should be slow to interfere with a decision which a responsible . .
CitedJewish Liturgical Association Cha’are Shalom Ve Tsedek v France ECHR 27-Jun-2000
The applicants, ultra-orthodox jews, challenged the regulation of ritual slaughter in France, which did not satisfy their exacting religious standards.
Held: The applicants’ right to freedom of expression was not limited by the controls on the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Animals, Administrative, Human Rights

Updated: 04 December 2022; Ref: scu.258160

The Churchwardens of St Ann’s Westminster: 1792

The Spiritual Court may compel the payment of a tax for the repairs of a church.
Upon a motion for a prohibition to stay a suit against J S for not paying a tax imposed by the churchwardens and other parishioners, for building the church of St.
Ann’s in Westminster ; per Holt Chief Justice, a suit may be in the Spiritual Court for non-payment of a tax assessed for repairs of a church, but not for building a
church.

Citations:

[1792] EngR 2489, (1792) 1 Ld Raym 512, (1792) 91 ER 1242 (A)

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 30 November 2022; Ref: scu.360701

Craigie v Marshall: 1850

Citations:

(1850) 12 D 523

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Cited by:

CitedThe Free Church of Scotland v The General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland SCS 24-Mar-2005
Each group claimed to by the true Free Church of Scotland. The dispute had a very long history. One claimed that the other had abandoned a fundamental principle of the faith, the right of ‘continued protest’.
Held: It was necessary to examine . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 26 November 2022; Ref: scu.223939

Church of the New Faith v Commissioner of Pay-Roll Tax (Victoria): 27 Oct 1983

(High Court of Australia) Meaning of religion – scientology church application for tax exemption. The trend is towards a ‘newer, more expansive, reading’ of religion. However ‘Religious conviction is not a solvent of legal obligation.’
High Court of Australia – (Victoria) The Court referred to which ‘ . . seek to explain, in terms of a broader reality, the existence of the universe, the meaning of human life and human destiny.’
Pay-roll Tax (Vict.) – Exemption – Religious or public benevolent institution – Scientology – Religion – Pay-roll Tax Act 1971 (Vict.),s. 10(b).

Judges:

Mason ACJ, Murphy, Wilson, Brennan and Deane JJ

Citations:

(1983) 154 CLR 120, [1983] HCA 40

Links:

Austlii, Jade

Jurisdiction:

Australia

Cited by:

CitedRegina v Secretary of State for Education and Employment and others ex parte Williamson and others HL 24-Feb-2005
The appellants were teachers in Christian schools who said that the blanket ban on corporal punishment interfered with their religious freedom. They saw moderate physical discipline as an essential part of educating children in a Christian manner. . .
CitedIvey v Genting Casinos (UK) Ltd (T/A Crockfords) SC 25-Oct-2017
The claimant gambler sought payment of his winnings. The casino said that he had operated a system called edge-sorting to achieve the winnings, and that this was a form of cheating so as to excuse their payment. The system exploited tiny variances . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Taxes – Other

Updated: 24 November 2022; Ref: scu.223025

Couper v Burn: 1859

The court considered a dispute as to the doctrine of the Free Church of Scotland. In doing so it was not restricted to the original documents but could look at doctrinal developments to the date of the action.

Citations:

(1859) 22 D. 120

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

CitedCraigdallie v Aikman PC 14-Jun-2013
A chapel was acquired with the subscriptions of a congregation which seceded from the Church of Scotland in 1737 and subsequently split over whether a magistrate might suppress heresy. Each of the rival groups claimed that the chapel belonged to . .

Cited by:

CitedThe Free Church of Scotland v The General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland SCS 24-Mar-2005
Each group claimed to by the true Free Church of Scotland. The dispute had a very long history. One claimed that the other had abandoned a fundamental principle of the faith, the right of ‘continued protest’.
Held: It was necessary to examine . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 23 November 2022; Ref: scu.223940

Regina v the Imam of Bury Park Jame Masjid Luton and others ex parte Suliman Ali: QBD 13 Sep 1991

The court was asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held:

Judges:

Auld

Citations:

Independent 13-Sep-1991

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

UpheldRegina v The Imam of Bury Park Mosque, Luton and others ex parte Sualiman Ali CA 12-May-1993
The court had been asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: The request was denied. The case was not one of public law: ‘ the particular function which the Imam was performing affected . .
CitedBlake v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Jul-2003
The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 19 November 2022; Ref: scu.650096

Blake v Associated Newspapers Ltd: QBD 31 Jul 2003

The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard.
Gray J said: ‘It is well established . . that the court will not venture into doctrinal disputes or differences. But there is authority that the courts will not regulate issues as to the procedures adopted by religious bodies or the customs and practices of a particular religious community or questions as to the moral and religious fitness of a person to carry out the spiritual and pastoral duties of his office.’
The issues of the case, ‘cannot be adapted so as to circumvent the insuperable obstacle placed in the way of a fair trial of this action by the fact that the court must abstain from determining questions which lie at the heart of the case’.

Judges:

Gray J

Citations:

[2003] EWHC 1960 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedGeneral Assembly of Free Church of Scotland v Overtoun HL 1904
Craigdallie stated settled law: ‘My Lords, I disclaim altogether any right in this or any other civil court of this realm to discuss the truth or reasonableness of any of the doctrines of this or any other religious association, or to say whether . .
CitedRegina v Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, Ex parte Wachmann 1992
A local rabbi sought judicial review of the declaration of the Chief Rabbi, following an investigation into allegations of adultery with members of his congregation, that he was religiously and morally unfit to occupy his position.
Held: Simon . .
CitedRegina v The Imam of Bury Park Mosque, Luton and others ex parte Sualiman Ali CA 12-May-1993
The court had been asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: The request was denied. The case was not one of public law: ‘ the particular function which the Imam was performing affected . .
CitedVarsani and others v Jesani, Patel and Her Majesty’s Attorney-General CA 3-Apr-1998
A Hindu religious sect, constituted as a charity, had split into two factions.
Held: The court had jurisdiction to order that the assets of the sect should be divided under the powers in the Act, and held upon separate trusts for the two . .
CitedRegina v the Imam of Bury Park Jame Masjid Luton and others ex parte Suliman Ali QBD 13-Sep-1991
The court was asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: . .
Distinguished on the factsPrebble v Television New Zealand Ltd PC 27-Jun-1994
(New Zealand) The plaintiff, an MP, pursued a defamation case. The defendant wished to argue for the truth of what was said, and sought to base his argument on things said in Parliament. The plaintiff responded that this would be a breach of . .
CitedManoussakis and Others v Greece ECHR 26-Sep-1996
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection rejected (non-exhaustion); Violation of Art. 9; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation sufficient; Costs and expenses award – domestic . .

Cited by:

CitedHH Sant Baba Jeet Singh Ji Maharaj v Eastern Media Group and Another QBD 17-May-2010
The claimant, a Sikh religious leader complained of defamation in a Sikh journal in England. The defendant said the claim was non-justiciable since it required the court to pronouce on a matter of religious doctrine.
Held: The plea of . .
CitedKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 17-Jul-2012
The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 19 November 2022; Ref: scu.428701

Regina v Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, Ex parte Wachmann: 1992

A local rabbi sought judicial review of the declaration of the Chief Rabbi, following an investigation into allegations of adultery with members of his congregation, that he was religiously and morally unfit to occupy his position.
Held: Simon Brown J said: ‘Mr Beloff invites my attention to certain passages in the judgments of the Court of Appeal both in Law’s case and in the Datafin Case [1987] Q.B. 815. I need not recite them. Their effect is clear enough. To say of decisions of a given body that they are public law decisions with public law consequences means something more than that they are decisions which may be of great interest or concern to the public or, indeed, which may have consequences for the public. To attract the court’s supervisory jurisdiction there must be not merely a public but potentially a governmental interest in the decision-making power in question. And, indeed, generally speaking the exercise of the power in question involves not merely the voluntary regulations of some important area of public life but also what Mr Beloff calls a ‘twin track system of control.’ In other words, where non-governmental bodies have hitherto been held reviewable, they have generally been operating as an integral part of a regulatory system which, although it is itself non-statutory, is nevertheless supported by statutory powers and penalties clearly indicative of government concern.’
. . And ‘As Mr Beloff points out, the court would never be prepared to rule on questions of Jewish law. Mr Carus, recognising this prospective difficulty, says that in advancing his challenge here, the applicant would be prepared to rely solely upon the common law concept of natural justice. But it would not always be easy to separate out procedural complaints from consideration of substantive principles of Jewish law which may underlie them . . That consideration apart, this court is hardly in a position to regulate what is essentially a religious function – the determination whether someone is morally and religiously fit to carry out the spiritual and pastoral duties of his office. The Court must inevitably be wary of entering so self-evidently sensitive an area, straying across the well-recognised divide between church and state. One cannot, therefore, escape the conclusion that if judicial review lies here, then one way or another this secular court must inevitably be drawn into adjudicating upon matters intimate to a religious community’.
The state has not surrendered or delegated any of its functions or powers to the Church. None of the functions that the Church of England performs would have to be performed in its place by the state if the Church were to abdicate its responsibility. The relationship which the state has with the Church of England is one of recognition, not of the devolution to it of any of the powers or functions of government. ‘the court would never be prepared to rule on questions of Jewish law’ In relation to the determination of whether someone is morally and religiously fit to carry out the spiritual and pastoral duties of his office, the court ‘must inevitably be wary of entering so self-evidently sensitive an area, straying across the well-recognised divide between church and state’

Judges:

Simon Brown J

Citations:

[1992] 1 WLR 1036

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedParochial Church Council of the Parish of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley, Warwickshire v Wallbank and another HL 26-Jun-2003
Parish Councils are Hybrid Public Authorities
The owners of glebe land were called upon as lay rectors to contribute to the cost of repairs to the local church. They argued that the claim was unlawful by section 6 of the 1998 Act as an act by a public authority incompatible with a Convention . .
CitedRegina (Amicus etc) v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Admn 26-Apr-2004
The claimants sought a declaration that part of the Regulations were invalid, and an infringement of their human rights. The Regulations sought to exempt church schools from an obligation not to discriminate against homosexual teachers.
Held: . .
CitedRegina v The Imam of Bury Park Mosque, Luton and others ex parte Sualiman Ali CA 12-May-1993
The court had been asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: The request was denied. The case was not one of public law: ‘ the particular function which the Imam was performing affected . .
CitedBlake v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Jul-2003
The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard. . .
CitedKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 17-Jul-2012
The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Constitutional, Judicial Review

Updated: 18 November 2022; Ref: scu.184046

General Assembly of Free Church of Scotland v Overtoun: HL 1904

Craigdallie stated settled law: ‘My Lords, I disclaim altogether any right in this or any other civil court of this realm to discuss the truth or reasonableness of any of the doctrines of this or any other religious association, or to say whether any of them are or are not based on a just interpretation of the language of scripture, or whether the contradictions or antinomies between different statements of doctrine are or are not real or apparent only, or whether such contradictions do or do not proceed only from an imperfect and finite conception of a perfect and infinite Being, or any similar question. The more humble, but not useless function of the civil court is to determine whether the trusts imposed upon the property by the founders of the trust are being duly observed . . The question in each case is what were the religious tenets and principles which formed the bond of union of the association for whose benefit the trust was created? . .’

Judges:

Lord Davey

Citations:

[1904] AC 515

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

AppliedCraigdallie v Aikman PC 14-Jun-2013
A chapel was acquired with the subscriptions of a congregation which seceded from the Church of Scotland in 1737 and subsequently split over whether a magistrate might suppress heresy. Each of the rival groups claimed that the chapel belonged to . .

Cited by:

CitedParochial Church Council of the Parish of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley, Warwickshire v Wallbank and another HL 26-Jun-2003
Parish Councils are Hybrid Public Authorities
The owners of glebe land were called upon as lay rectors to contribute to the cost of repairs to the local church. They argued that the claim was unlawful by section 6 of the 1998 Act as an act by a public authority incompatible with a Convention . .
CitedThe Bahamas District of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas and Others v The Hon Vernon J Symonette M P Speaker of the House of Assembly and 7 Others (No 70 of 1998) and Ormond Hilton Poitier and 14 Others v The Methodist Church PC 26-Jul-2000
PC (The Bahamas) The Methodist community had split, eventually leading to a new Act. Others now challenged the constitionality of the Act, and that lands had been transferred in breach of the constitution.
Not followedVarsani and others v Jesani, Patel and Her Majesty’s Attorney-General CA 3-Apr-1998
A Hindu religious sect, constituted as a charity, had split into two factions.
Held: The court had jurisdiction to order that the assets of the sect should be divided under the powers in the Act, and held upon separate trusts for the two . .
CitedBlake v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Jul-2003
The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard. . .
CitedKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 17-Jul-2012
The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Trusts

Updated: 18 November 2022; Ref: scu.187517

Varsani and others v Jesani, Patel and Her Majesty’s Attorney-General: CA 3 Apr 1998

A Hindu religious sect, constituted as a charity, had split into two factions.
Held: The court had jurisdiction to order that the assets of the sect should be divided under the powers in the Act, and held upon separate trusts for the two factions. The court declined to adjudicate as to which group was correctly following the faith, and therefore applied the cy pres doctrine in dividing the assets. Earlier cases had now been overtaken by the Charities Act, and the question fell to be settled in accordance with section 13. The spirit of the gift to which the court is to have regard is that which prevailed at the time of the gift when the two groups were in harmony. The court will not venture into doctrinal disputes or differences.

Judges:

Sir Stephen Brown, Lord Justice Morritt, Lord Justice Chadwick

Citations:

[1998] EWCA Civ 630, [1999] Ch 219, [1998] 3 All ER 273

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Charities Act 1993 13(1)(e)(iii)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Not followedCraigdallie v Aikman PC 14-Jun-2013
A chapel was acquired with the subscriptions of a congregation which seceded from the Church of Scotland in 1737 and subsequently split over whether a magistrate might suppress heresy. Each of the rival groups claimed that the chapel belonged to . .
Not followedAttorney-General v Pearson 1817
No Alteration to Charty’s Objects
A protestant dissenters’ meeting house in Wolverhampton which was declared by a trust deed to be held for ‘the worship and service of God’ was the subject of a dispute between the schismatic congregation. The issue was the nature of the worship . .
Not followedGeneral Assembly of Free Church of Scotland v Overtoun HL 1904
Craigdallie stated settled law: ‘My Lords, I disclaim altogether any right in this or any other civil court of this realm to discuss the truth or reasonableness of any of the doctrines of this or any other religious association, or to say whether . .
CitedRe Camden’s Charity 1881
. .
CitedRe Lepton’s Charity 1972
. .
CitedGilmour v Coats HL 1949
Prayers Alone did not make Convent Charitable
A trust to apply the income of a fund for all or any of the purposes of a community of Roman Catholic Carmelite nuns living in seclusion and spending their lives in prayer, contemplation and penance, was not charitable because it could not be shown . .

Cited by:

CitedThe Bahamas District of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas and Others v The Hon Vernon J Symonette M P Speaker of the House of Assembly and 7 Others (No 70 of 1998) and Ormond Hilton Poitier and 14 Others v The Methodist Church PC 26-Jul-2000
PC (The Bahamas) The Methodist community had split, eventually leading to a new Act. Others now challenged the constitionality of the Act, and that lands had been transferred in breach of the constitution.
CitedBlake v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Jul-2003
The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard. . .
CitedKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 17-Jul-2012
The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Trusts, Ecclesiastical, Charity

Updated: 18 November 2022; Ref: scu.144108

In The Matter Of The Westminster Estate Of The Parish Of St Sepulchre, London; And In The Matter Of The Westminster Bridge Acts, 1853 And 1859, And The Statute 9 &Amp;Amp: 17 Feb 1864

10 Vict c 39 Ex parte the Vicar, Churchwardens and Trustees of the Parish of St Sepulchre

Citations:

[1864] EngR 256, (1864) 46 ER 907

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 09 November 2022; Ref: scu.281970

Doe D Evans v Jones: 1830

Although the preacher at an Endowed meeting-house has such an interest in the office and it’s emoluments as will entitle him to a mandamus if disturbed in the use of the pulpit, he has not such a legal interest in the endowment as will entitle him to retain possession against the trustees of such endowment.

Citations:

(1830) 5 Man and Ry KB 752

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 01 November 2022; Ref: scu.649121

Cooper v Gordon: 1869

The trust deeds of a Congregation of Independents, a chapel, a house and other property were vested in trustees for the use of the congregation, and to permit the Minister for the time being, to occupy the house. The deeds contained no express provision for the appointment or removal or a minister. In 1866 he was invited by a resolution of the church members of the congregation to become co-pastor with the minister. In 1868 a majority of the church members resolved that G be dismissed and the majority of the trustees concurred in this resolution. G claimed to hold his office for life in the absence of immorality or preaching contrary to the tenets of the denomination which was not charged.
Held: He was dismissed and an injunction granted accordingly.

Citations:

(1869) 33 JP 761, (1869) LR 8 Eq 249, (1869) 38 LJ Ch 489, (1869) 20 LT 732

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 01 November 2022; Ref: scu.649120

Perry v Shipway: 21 Apr 1859

The *minister of a Dissenting chapel, although duly elected, is at law only tenant at will of the trustees, in whom the legal estate is vested, and the majority of trustees in a trust constituted for such a purpose can bind the minority. Therefore, where a Dissenting minister, invited to preach for a year on probation, was, after preaching for some months, excluded from the chapel by the majority of trustees, on account of dissatisfaction as to his conduct, and afterwards, with the assistance of the minority of the trustees, got possession of the chapel and put on new locks, so as to exclude the majority of the trustees : The Court granted an injunction to restrain the minister and minority of the trustees from disturbing the legal right of the majority of the trustees to the possession and management of the chapel.

Citations:

[1859] EngR 490, (1859) 1 Giff 1, (1859) 65 ER 799

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Landlord and Tenant, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 31 October 2022; Ref: scu.287842

Regina v The Imam of Bury Park Mosque, Luton and others ex parte Sualiman Ali: CA 12 May 1993

The court had been asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: The request was denied. The case was not one of public law: ‘ the particular function which the Imam was performing affected the applicant’s rights in a way which was peculiar to a limited class of persons, namely, persons who were members of the Bury Park Mosque Community’. However, as to the suggestion that the dispute was in essence one of religious doctrine: ‘The sole source of the power of the Mosque’s constitution, in the eyes of English law, is the consensual submission of the members of the Mosque community to its provisions. Likewise, the decision making authority of the Imam derived from the private law of contract, albeit by way of an order of the Chancery Court, the proceedings before the Chancery Court being based on alleged breaches of the constitution by the defendants to that action, that is to say by the existing executive committee.’

Judges:

Balcombe, McCowan, Roch LJJ

Citations:

Times 15-May-1993, Independent 13-Sep-1993, [1993] EWCA Civ 36, [1994] COD 142

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedRegina v Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, Ex parte Wachmann 1992
A local rabbi sought judicial review of the declaration of the Chief Rabbi, following an investigation into allegations of adultery with members of his congregation, that he was religiously and morally unfit to occupy his position.
Held: Simon . .
Appeal fromRegina v The Imam of Bury Park Mosque, Luton and others ex parte Suliman Ali ChD 30-Aug-1951
Application was made for judicial review of a decision as to the governance of a Mosque.
Held: The application was not justiciable, in that the role played by the Imam did not contain an element of public law so as to attract the supervisory . .
CitedLee v Showmens Guild of Great Britain CA 1952
Decisions of inferior tribunals, including arbitrators, were reviewable on the basis of general error of law on record for which certiorari might issue. A decision may be reviewable where there was no evidence supporting particular conclusions.
CitedRegina v Take-over Panel, ex parte Datafin PLC CA 1986
Amenability to judicial review
The issue of amenability to judicial review often requires an examination of the nature of the power under challenge as well as its source: ‘In all the reports it is possible to find enumerations of factors giving rise to the jurisdiction [of . .
UpheldRegina v the Imam of Bury Park Jame Masjid Luton and others ex parte Suliman Ali QBD 13-Sep-1991
The court was asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: . .

Cited by:

CitedBlake v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Jul-2003
The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard. . .
CitedKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 17-Jul-2012
The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Judicial Review

Updated: 27 October 2022; Ref: scu.428702

Coker v Diocese of Southwark: ET 16 Mar 1995

An Anglican clergyman is an employee of the church, and so has employment rights.

Citations:

Independent 16-Mar-1995, Times 04-Apr-1996

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal fromDiocese of Southwark and Others v Coker EAT 4-Apr-1996
A curate is not an employee of the Church and cannot claim unfair dismissal. . .
At the Employment TribunalReverend Doctor A B Coker v Diocese of Southwark; Bishop of Southwark and Diocesan Board of Finance CA 11-Jul-1997
A Church of England Assistant Curate is not an employee, but rather a holder of an ecclesiastical office. There is a presumption that ministers of religion were office-holders who did not serve under a contract of employment. Accordingly he is not . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.79267

Reverend Doctor A B Coker v Diocese of Southwark; Bishop of Southwark and Diocesan Board of Finance: CA 11 Jul 1997

A Church of England Assistant Curate is not an employee, but rather a holder of an ecclesiastical office. There is a presumption that ministers of religion were office-holders who did not serve under a contract of employment. Accordingly he is not entitled to claim to have been unfairly dismissed under the legislation. Mummery LJ said: ‘The simple reason, in my view, for the absence of a contract between the church and a minister of religion is the lack of an intention to create a contractual relationship.’ and ‘It is difficult to see why an ordained priest, licensed by his bishop to assist the incumbent in his cure of souls, is under contract with the bishop, by whom he is licensed, or with the incumbent he is assisting, or with anyone else, in the absence of a clear intention to create a contract.’
Whether an assistant curate was an employee protected by employment legislation.
Held: The claim failed.

Judges:

Mummery LJ

Citations:

Gazette 23-Jul-1997, [1997] EWCA Civ 2090, [1998] ICR 140

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal fromDiocese of Southwark and Others v Coker EAT 4-Apr-1996
A curate is not an employee of the Church and cannot claim unfair dismissal. . .
At the Employment TribunalCoker v Diocese of Southwark ET 16-Mar-1995
An Anglican clergyman is an employee of the church, and so has employment rights. . .
CitedPresident of the Methodist Conference v Parfitt CA 1-Oct-1983
The claimant sought to assert that he as a minister of the Methodist Church who had been received into full connection had a contract of employment with the church. Having that contract, he said hat he had been unfairly dismissed.
Held: A . .

Cited by:

CitedPercy v Church of Scotland Board of National Mission HL 15-Dec-2005
The claimant appealed after her claim for sex discrimination had failed. She had been dismissed from her position an associate minister of the church. The court had found that it had no jurisdiction, saying that her appointment was not an . .
CitedThe New Testament Church of God v Reverend Stewart CA 19-Oct-2007
The appellant appealed a finding that the respondent had been its employee, saying he was a minister of religion.
Held: The judge had been entitled to find an intention to create legal relations, and therefore that the claimant was an . .
CitedMethodist Conference v Preston SC 15-May-2013
Minister was not an employee
The claimant asserted unfair dismissal. The Conference said that as an ordained minister she was not an employee, and was outwith the jurisdiction of such a claim.
Held: The Conference’s appeal succeeded (Baroness Hale dissenting). The essence . .
CitedSharpe v The Bishop of Worcester CA 30-Apr-2015
Reverend Sharpe applied for the post of Rector of Teme Valley South. The right to present (or nominate) a member of the clergy to this living was vested in Mr and Mrs Miles but a person could not be nominated without the Bishop’s approval, which was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 22 October 2022; Ref: scu.142487

Green v Cobden: 22 Apr 1836

Where the incumbent of a benefice cannot be found, service of a monition, by leaving it at the parsonage house, is sufficient, notwithstanding the incumbent does not habitually reside in it.

Citations:

[1836] EngR 612, (1836) 2 Bing NC 627, (1836) 132 ER 242

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 13 October 2022; Ref: scu.314944

Rev Smith As Moderator of The General Assembly of The Free Church of Scotland and Others v Rev Morrison and Others: SCS 12 Aug 2011

The pursuer sought a declaration as to the ownership of and trusts in land and building forming the Manse at Broadford, Skye, and an order excluding the respondents from the lands.

Judges:

Lord Osborne, Lord Bonomy, Lord Drummond Young

Citations:

[2011] ScotCS CSIH – 52

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Land, Ecclesiastical, Trusts

Updated: 17 September 2022; Ref: scu.442763

Religionsgemeinschaft der Zeugen Jehovas And Others v Austria: ECHR 31 Jul 2008

The State has a duty to remain neutral and impartial in exercising its regulatory power in the sphere of religious freedom and in its relations with different religions, denominations and beliefs.

Citations:

40825/98, [2008] ECHR 762

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Cited by:

CitedThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v United Kingdom ECHR 4-Mar-2014
latterdayECHR0314
The claimant said that it had been wrongfully deprived of relief from business rates for its two temples. It asserted that it was a religion, and that the treatment was discriminatory. The government said that the refusal was on the basis alone that . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 15 September 2022; Ref: scu.272727

St Mary and St Michael Parish Advisory Company Ltd v The Westminster Roman Catholic Diocese Trustee, Her Majesty’s Attorney Genera and others: ChD 6 Apr 2006

Parish members objected to the building within the church grounds of an education centre. They said that the land was to be used for the purposes of the members of the parish only under a trust deed of 1851.
Held: The deed had to be construed in its context at the time. At the time of the deed, there were no parishes for the Roman Catholic Church. This was a missionary area. Even at the time, if all catholics in the area had taken up places, and there were places left, those could be filled by non-catholics. The decision by the trustees had been a valid exercise of the powers given to them.

Judges:

Mr Justice Lawrence Collins

Citations:

[2006] EWHC 762 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedDundee General Hospital Board of Management v Bell’s Trustees HL 26-Mar-1952
The willl left a gift subject to the sole discretion of the trustees as to the ownership of the Hospital.
Held: A decision taken by trustees based upon a wrong interpretation of a deed could be set aside as avoided. Lord Normand said: ‘It . .
CitedFraser and Another v Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance and others HL 27-Oct-2005
Land had been acquired by a deed under the 1841 Act, but had in 1995 ceased to be used as a school ‘for the education of children and adults of the labouring manufacturing and other poorer classes . . And for no other purpose ‘. Under the Act, the . .
CitedInvestors Compensation Scheme Ltd v West Bromwich Building Society HL 19-Jun-1997
Account taken of circumstances wihout ambiguity
The respondent gave advice on home income plans. The individual claimants had assigned their initial claims to the scheme, but later sought also to have their mortgages in favour of the respondent set aside.
Held: Investors having once . .
CitedMogridge v Clapp 1892
The Court considered a provision of the 1882 Act which required a dealing with a tenant for life to be one in good faith said that good faith. Kekewich J said that the words ‘good faith’ were to be equated with the words ‘bona fides’, and: ‘I think . .
CitedSieff v Fox ChD 23-Jun-2005
The advisers to trustees wrongly advised the trustees about the tax consequences of exercising a power of appointment in a certain way. As a result a large unforeseen Capital Gains Tax liability arose. The trustees sought to set aside the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Land, Trusts

Updated: 10 September 2022; Ref: scu.241998

Rev Mr Thomas Tait v Mr George Skene Keith, Minister, and Others: HL 30 Mar 1778

Patron – Competing Presentations – Mandant’s Powers – Implied Recal.-
Where a patron, residing in a foreign country, had appointed commissioners, with powers to present to vacant churches, the latter presented a party a day before the patron himself presented another party: Held, the presentation by the commissioners, in virtue of the powers delegated to them, was good, and to be preferred to the patron’s own presentation, and that the right of patronage may be exercised by delegates so appointed.

Citations:

[1778] UKHL 2 – Paton – 447

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 08 September 2022; Ref: scu.562021

In re Welford Road Cemetery, Leicester: CArc 14 Oct 2006

The court allowed an appeal against an order of the Consistory Court requiring the burial services manager to re-instate memorial stones which had been laid flat for safety. It would be highly unusual to grant relief to those who had not applied for it.

Judges:

Miss Sheila Cameron, QC, Dean of the Arches, Mr David Turner, QC, Chancellor, and Mr Mark Hill, Chancellor

Citations:

Times 02-Nov-2006

Statutes:

Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991 13(5)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 04 September 2022; Ref: scu.247627

In re St Peter and St Paul, Chingford: CArc 14 Aug 2007

An appeal was made against a refusal of a faculty for the installation of a mobile phone mast in a church spire on the basis that the mast would be used for the transmission of, inter alia, pornographic materials.
Held: The appeal succeeded. A balance had to be found between the great social advantages of communication, including the duty to children under UN Convention, and the conscience of the parishioners.

Judges:

Miss Sheila Cameron QC,

Citations:

Times 08-Oct-2007

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 01 September 2022; Ref: scu.260261

Savez Crkava (Rijec Zivota) And Others v Croatia: ECHR 9 Dec 2010

Judges:

Christos Rozakis, P

Citations:

7798/08, [2010] ECHR 1983, 30 BHRC 112, (2012) 54 EHRR 36, [2011] Eq LR 205

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Cited by:

CitedThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v United Kingdom ECHR 4-Mar-2014
latterdayECHR0314
The claimant said that it had been wrongfully deprived of relief from business rates for its two temples. It asserted that it was a religion, and that the treatment was discriminatory. The government said that the refusal was on the basis alone that . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 28 August 2022; Ref: scu.426986

Barker v O’Gorman: ChD 1971

The plaintiff sought to challenge to a proposed union between the Methodist Church and the Church of England on the ground that the Methodist Conference had no power to vary the doctrinal standards of the former church.

Citations:

[1971] Ch 215

Statutes:

The Methodist Church Union Act 1929

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedShergill and Others v Khaira and Others SC 11-Jun-2014
The parties disputed the trusts upon which three Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples) were held. The Court of Appeal had held that the issues underlying the dispute were to be found in matters of the faith of the Sikh parties, and had ordered a permanent stay. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 24 August 2022; Ref: scu.543078

The Reverend Charles Joseph Ridsdale, Clerk v Clifton: PC 12 May 1877

(The Arches Court of Canterbury) Complaint had been made as to the conduct of services by the appellant, including that he had worn the wrong kinds of apparel, and had stood in a position to obscure the ability of the congregation to his breaking of the bread during communion, using the wrong shaped .

Citations:

[1877] UKPC 18, (1876-77) LR 2 App Cas 574

Links:

Bailii

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 20 August 2022; Ref: scu.418719

HH Sant Baba Jeet Singh Ji Maharaj v Eastern Media Group and Another: QBD 17 May 2010

The claimant, a Sikh religious leader complained of defamation in a Sikh journal in England. The defendant said the claim was non-justiciable since it required the court to pronouce on a matter of religious doctrine.
Held: The plea of non-justiciability succeeded, and the claim was stayed. Eady J said: ‘the allegation of ‘impostor’ cannot be divorced from questions of Sikh doctrine and practice. Of course, I recognise that if an allegation were made of someone, who happened to be a religious leader, that he had his hand in the till, or assaulted a follower, this could be determined separately and without reference to religious doctrine or status, but that is far from this case. The issue whether this Claimant is or is not fairly described as an ‘impostor’ cannot be isolated and resolved without reference to Sikh doctrines and traditions.’

Judges:

Eady J

Citations:

[2010] EWHC 1294 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedSulaiman v Juffali FD 9-Nov-2001
A talaq pronounced in England as between parties who were Saudi nationals was not to be recognised in English law as a valid extra judicial overseas divorce, even though it otherwise complied with Sharia law. Section 44(1)(a) provides that no . .
CitedBlake v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Jul-2003
The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard. . .

Cited by:

CitedKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 17-Jul-2012
The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 19 August 2022; Ref: scu.416606

Gibson v Lord Advocate: 1975

Lord Keith reserved his opinion on whether provisions in the Acts of Union of 1707 and legislation purporting to abolish the Church of Scotland were justiciable: ‘The making of decisions upon what must essentially be a political matter is no part of the function of the Court, and it is highly undesirable that it should be. The function of the Court is to adjudicate upon the particular rights and obligations of individual persons, natural or corporate, in relation to other persons or, in certain instances, to the State.’

Judges:

Lord Keith

Citations:

1975 SC 136

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Cited by:

CitedJackson and others v Attorney General HL 13-Oct-2005
The applicant sought to challenge the 2004 Hunting Act, saying that it had been passed under the provisions of the 1949 Parliament Act which was itself an unlawful extension of the powers given by the 1911 Parliament Act to allow the House of . .
CitedMiller, Regina (On the Application Of) v The Prime Minister QBD 11-Sep-2019
Prorogation request was non-justiciable
The claimant sought to challenge the prorogation of Parliament by the Queen at the request of the respondent.
Held: The claim failed: ‘the decision of the Prime Minister to advise Her Majesty the Queen to prorogue Parliament is not justiciable . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Constitutional

Updated: 04 August 2022; Ref: scu.231151

In re St Laurence, Alvechurch: ConC 19 Jun 2003

The incumbent and churchwardens applied for a faculty for the creation of a car park and church hall. Planning permission had already been granted.
Held: The Consistory Court could assume that once planning permission had been granted, the elements of the decision taken into account in that decision should be taken to have been correctly assessed. There remained issues as to the pastoral consequences, and a proposal was still required. The assumption might be displaced if it could be shown that the planners had failed to give appropriate attention to the special quality of the building.

Judges:

Charles Mynor, Chancellor

Citations:

Times 04-Sep-2003

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical, Planning

Updated: 03 August 2022; Ref: scu.186102

In Re Durrington Cemetery: ConC 5 Jul 2000

A Jewish man had married a Christian. She requested his burial in a Christian cemetery. After she later emigrated, his relatives applied for his exhumation, and reburial in a Jewish cemetery. The delay was excused because it had been out of deference to the widow’s wishes, and the two faiths were similar enough for the re-interment to be allowed a faculty, even though the new burial would not be in consecrated ground.

Citations:

Times 05-Jul-2000, Gazette 13-Jul-2000

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.81855

Hodkin and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages: Admn 19 Dec 2012

The claimants, both scientologists, wanted to be married as the London Church Chapel. The respondent had declined to register it as a place of worship under the 1855 Act.
Held: The claim failed. Scientology is a religion. Counsel for the Registrar General preferred to confine his submissions to arguing that, whether or not Scientology is a religion, the Registrar General was properly entitled to conclude that its ceremonies and practices do not amount to religious worship for the reasons given by the Court of Appeal in Segerdal.

Judges:

Ouseley J

Citations:

[2012] EWHC 3635 (Admin), [2013] WLR(D) 3, [2013] PTSR 875

Links:

Bailii, WLRD

Statutes:

Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 2

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedRegina v Registrar General, Ex parte Segerdal QBD 1969
The Church of Scientology challenged the refusal of the Registrar General to register its chapel at East Grinstead as a place of meeting for religious worship.
Held: The challenge failed. . .
CitedRegina v Registrar General, Ex parte Segerdal CA 1970
The Church of Scientology chapel at East Grinstead, Sussex was not a ‘place of meeting for religious worship’ within the meaning of section 2 of the 1855 Act since that would require reverence to a deity. The Church of Scientology’s services did not . .

Cited by:

Appeal fromHodkin and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages SC 11-Dec-2013
The appellants sought to be married in their regular church in London. The minister would be pleased to perform the ceremony, but church to which they belonged was part of the Church of Scientology, and had been refused registration under the 1855 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Family, Administrative, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.468890

Fraser and Another v Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance: ChD 22 Feb 2000

Where land had been acquired under the Act on trusts related specifically to the provision of education in accordance with a specified religion, the abandonment by the school of that purpose meant that the land reverted immediately to the original donor. It was clear that the trust established was not merely for educational purposes where the religious element was incidental. That element was the purpose of the gift.

Citations:

Times 22-Feb-2000

Statutes:

School Sites Act 1841

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal fromFraser and Another v Canterbury Diocesan Board Of Finance (No 1) CA 24-Nov-2000
A grant of land was made under the 1841 Act in 1872 (after the 1870 Act) and the school had in 1874 been transferred to a school board under section 23 of the 1870 Act. The school closed permanently in 1992. The issue was whether reverter had . .
CitedFraser and Another v Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance and others HL 27-Oct-2005
Land had been acquired by a deed under the 1841 Act, but had in 1995 ceased to be used as a school ‘for the education of children and adults of the labouring manufacturing and other poorer classes . . And for no other purpose ‘. Under the Act, the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Land, Ecclesiastical, Education

Updated: 25 July 2022; Ref: scu.80664

Church of Scientology v Sweden: ECHR 5 May 1979

Article 9-1. A church, as such, is capable of exercising the rights contained in Article 9 (New jurisprudence).
The freedom to manifest religious belief in practice dows not confer protection on statements of purported religious belief which are nonetheless of a commercial nature. Dostinction between advertisements which are merely ‘informational’ and those of a commercial character.

Citations:

7805/77, [1979] ECHR 9

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Human Rights, Media, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 24 July 2022; Ref: scu.341522

Scottish Insurance Commissioners v Church of Scotland: SCS 18 Oct 1913

An assistant minister in the United Free Church said that he was an employee of the church.
Held: He was not. Lord Kinnear said that the status of an assistant minister ‘is not that of a person who undertakes work defined by contract but of a person who holds an ecclesiastical office, and who performs the duties of that office subject to the laws of the Church to which he belongs and not subject to the control and direction of any particular master.’

Judges:

Lord Kinnear

Citations:

[1913] ScotCS CSIH – 3, (1914) SC 16

Links:

Bailii

Cited by:

CitedMethodist Conference v Preston SC 15-May-2013
Minister was not an employee
The claimant asserted unfair dismissal. The Conference said that as an ordained minister she was not an employee, and was outwith the jurisdiction of such a claim.
Held: The Conference’s appeal succeeded (Baroness Hale dissenting). The essence . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Scotland, Employment, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 21 July 2022; Ref: scu.279310

Philipps v Halliday: HL 1891

The freehold owner sought to recover possession of a pew in a parish church. He brought evidence that for more than 70 years he and his family had used it, repaired it, and kept it under lock and key.
Held: A legal origin for the use ought to be presumed. This was despite a suggestion that more than 200 years before possession of the pew had been acquired unlawfully. Where there has been long enjoyment of a right, the right should be presumed to have a lawful origin.

Judges:

Lord Herschell

Citations:

[1891] AC 228

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedRoland Brandwood and others v Bakewell Management Ltd CA 30-Jan-2003
House owners had used vehicular access across a common to get to their houses for many years. The commons owner required them to purchase the right, and they replied that they had acquired the right by lost modern grant and/or by prescription.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Land, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 12 July 2022; Ref: scu.179837

The New Testament Church of God v Reverend Stewart: CA 19 Oct 2007

The appellant appealed a finding that the respondent had been its employee, saying he was a minister of religion.
Held: The judge had been entitled to find an intention to create legal relations, and therefore that the claimant was an employee. ‘The religious beliefs of a community may be such that their manifestation does not involve the creation of a relationship enforceable at law between members of the religious community and one of their number appointed to minister to the others, whether the appointment is by the local congregation or under an episcopal form of government. The law should not readily impose a legal relationship on members of a religious community which would be contrary to their religious beliefs. These beliefs and practices may be such, in the context of a particular church, that no intention to create legal relations is present. To take them into account does not involve any departure from ordinary contractual principles, especially in the light of Article 9.’
Pill LJ discussed the case of Percy: ‘What Percy’s case does, however, is establish that the fact-finding tribunal is no longer required to approach its consideration of the nature of the relationship between a Minister and his Church with the presumption that there was no intention to create legal relations. The earlier cases, as explained, do not exclude that possibility; strong statements in Percy’s case leave it open to employment tribunals to find, provided of course a careful and conscientious scrutiny of the evidence justifies such a finding, that there is an intention to create legal relations between a Church and one of its Ministers . . The Chairman was not bound by authority to reach a different conclusion. It is recognised that a spiritual motivation in working for a Church does not necessarily preclude an intention to create legal relations.
The guidance to be followed is, in my view, that stated by Lord Nicholls, at paragraphs 23 to 26 of his speech . . It was found that there was in Percy’s case an intention to create a legally binding relationship but the earlier authorities were not overruled. As Dillon LJ stated in Parfitt’s case . . ‘The spiritual nature of the work and the spiritual discipline under which it is performed must be very relevant considerations when it has to be decided whether or not there is a contractual relationship’. That remains, in my view, a principle of the law of England and Wales.’

Judges:

Pill, Arden, Lawrence Collins LJJ

Citations:

[2007] EWCA Civ 1004, Times 20-Nov-2007, [2008] ICR 282, [2008] IRLR 134, [2008] HRLR 2

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Employment Rights Act 1996, European Convention on Human Rights 9

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedPresident of the Methodist Conference v Parfitt CA 1-Oct-1983
The claimant sought to assert that he as a minister of the Methodist Church who had been received into full connection had a contract of employment with the church. Having that contract, he said hat he had been unfairly dismissed.
Held: A . .
CitedReverend Doctor A B Coker v Diocese of Southwark; Bishop of Southwark and Diocesan Board of Finance CA 11-Jul-1997
A Church of England Assistant Curate is not an employee, but rather a holder of an ecclesiastical office. There is a presumption that ministers of religion were office-holders who did not serve under a contract of employment. Accordingly he is not . .
CitedDavies v Presbyterian Church of Wales HL 1986
A minister of the Presbyterian Church of Wales who had been inducted pastor of a united pastorate in Wales claimed unfair dismissal.
Held: If the existence or otherwise of the relationship of employer and employee is dependent solely upon the . .
CitedSantokh Singh v Guru Nanak Gurdwara CA 1990
A Granthi, a priest, at a Sikh temple was not employed under a contract of service. . .
CitedKokkinakis v Greece ECHR 25-May-1993
The defendant was convicted for proselytism contrary to Greek law. He claimed a breach of Article 9.
Held: To say that Jehovah’s Witness were proselytising criminally was excessive. Punishment for proselytising was unlawful in the . .
CitedRogers v Booth CA 1937
The plaintiff, a Salvation Army Officer claimed under the Workmen’s Compensation Act.
Held: The claim failed. Sir Wilfred Green MR said that membership of the Salvation Army gave rise to a relationship ‘pre-eminently of a spiritual character’ . .
CitedKoeller and Another v Coleg Elidyr (Camphill Communities Wales) Ltd CA 12-Jul-2005
The applicants occupied a house as licensees. An order for possession was made against them. The company was a charitable company set up to provide accomodation in communities for handicapped adults. The workers in the communities were not formally . .
CitedHasan and Chaush v Bulgaria ECHR 26-Oct-2000
The Grand Chamber considered executive interference in the appointment of the Chief Mufti of the Bulgarian Muslims: ‘Where the organisation of the religious community is at issue, Article 9 must be interpreted in the light of Article 11 of the . .
Appeal fromNew Testament Church of God v Stewart EAT 27-Oct-2006
EAT The tribunal had been correct in finding that as between the church and a pastor there had been an intention to enter into legal relations with sufficient characteristics of a contract of service. . .
CitedPercy v Church of Scotland Board of National Mission HL 15-Dec-2005
The claimant appealed after her claim for sex discrimination had failed. She had been dismissed from her position an associate minister of the church. The court had found that it had no jurisdiction, saying that her appointment was not an . .

Cited by:

CitedSingh v The Members of The Management Committe of The Bristol Sikh Temple and Others EAT 14-Feb-2012
EAT WORKING TIME REGULATIONS – Worker
NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ACT – Worker
The issue was whether the Priest at a Sikh Temple was a ‘worker’ within section 54(3)(b) of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Ecclesiastical, Human Rights

Updated: 12 July 2022; Ref: scu.259917

In re Hutton Churchyard, Somerset: Carc 12 Nov 2008

The local authority sought to intervene in proceedings in respect of a churchyard where the memorial had been laid flat.
Held: Since the local authority took over responsibility for maintenance once stones were laid flat, it had standing to appear in proceedings on the issue.

Judges:

Miss Sheila Cameron QC, Dean of the Arches, Judge Richard Walker, Commissary General and Ms Sheila Rodgers, Chancellor

Citations:

Times 24-Dec-2008

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 10 July 2022; Ref: scu.316675

Richard Troward v John Calland: PC 16 May 1796

If, after a grant of a next presentation to a living, the incumbent be made a bishop, by which the living becomes vacant, and the king is entitled to present, the grant is not defeated ; but the grantee may present on the next vacancy occasioned by the death or resignation of the king’s presentee.

Citations:

[1796] EngR 2410, (1796) 8 Bro PC 71, (1796) 3 ER 451

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 01 July 2022; Ref: scu.352115

Robert Lord Blantyre, and George Season of Barnes Esq; v Mr John Currie, Minister of Haddington: HL 1 Jun 1714

Teird Court, Minister’s Stipend. – A Parish bring disjoined the stipend formerly modified upon the whole, a allocates upon the original remaining parish, notwithstanding the use of payment had remained for so years, and the same after the disjunction as before.
It was not necessary to call the heritors of the new parish, as parties.
It was no sufficient defence, that the stipend still remaining was above the minimum setteled by the parliament.
A stipend is objected to as above the maximum of 1633, c. 19. but this stipend is allocated and decreed to be paid.

Citations:

[1714] UKHL Robertson – 88, (1714) Robertson 88

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 29 June 2022; Ref: scu.553474

The Free Church of Scotland v The General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland: SCS 24 Mar 2005

Each group claimed to by the true Free Church of Scotland. The dispute had a very long history. One claimed that the other had abandoned a fundamental principle of the faith, the right of ‘continued protest’.
Held: It was necessary to examine all relevant and credible material expository of the essential fundamental principles of the Free Church, and not just the founding documents. The court was unable to identify a right of continued protest as a substantive principle of the Free Church of Scotland, nor to identify such a right as a fundamental constitutional principle of the Free Church of Scotland. And in any event such a right had not been satisfactorily delineated by the pursuers. The court could not rule in favour of an apportionment of any assets.

Judges:

Ldy Paton

Citations:

[2005] ScotCS CSOH – 46

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Citing:

CitedBannatyne v Overtoun HL 1904
The parties disputed ownership of the assets of the Free Church of Scotland.
Held: The minority church were vindicated. Their Lordships identified fundamental tenets of the Free Church from which the majority had departed, including the . .
CitedThe Ferguson Bequest Fund Case 1879
The court was asked to look at the sharing of an income stream where a testator intended to benefit a number of voluntary churches.
Held: The court gave useful guidance as to options available when competing bodies were deemed still to be . .
CitedBrentnall v Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland 1986
. .
CitedCouper v Burn 1859
The court considered a dispute as to the doctrine of the Free Church of Scotland. In doing so it was not restricted to the original documents but could look at doctrinal developments to the date of the action. . .
CitedCraigdallie v Aikman PC 14-Jun-2013
A chapel was acquired with the subscriptions of a congregation which seceded from the Church of Scotland in 1737 and subsequently split over whether a magistrate might suppress heresy. Each of the rival groups claimed that the chapel belonged to . .
CitedBurnley etc Textile Union v ATWU 1986
. .
CitedSmith v Galbraith 1843
. .
CitedCraigie v Marshall 1850
. .
CitedMackay and others v Macleod and others 10-Jan-1952
The court had to determine the nature and constitution of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland from the provisions of a Deed of Separation, together with certain documents specified in that deed.
Held: The court was constrained to that . .
CitedConnell v Ferguson 1861
. .
CitedBannatyne v Overtoun IHCS 1902
The House rejected the suggestion of an apportionment of the assets of the Free Church of Scotland between competing claimants. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 29 June 2022; Ref: scu.223834

Stewart v Robinson and Others: HL 19 Jun 1891

Church – Glebe Boundaries – Decree of Presbytery – Ambiguity – Extent of Glebe Boundary – Excambion – Possession.
Held ( aff. judgment of the First Division) that a decree of Presbytery drawn up for the purpose of fixing the boundaries of a glebe was unambiguous, and that therefore its limits could not be extended by evidence of possession of a larger boundary.

Judges:

Earl of Selborne, and Lords Watson, Bramwell, and Morris

Citations:

[1891] UKHL 912, 28 SLR 912

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Land, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 28 June 2022; Ref: scu.636776

Representative Body of the Church in Wales v Tithe Redemption Commission: HL 1944

The issue, arising from the disestablishment of the Welsh Church, was whether tithe rent charges temporally vested in the Welsh Commissioners pending their transfer to the University of Wales while temporarily vested, subjected the Welsh Commissioners to chancel repair liability. If so, Government stock needed to be issued to the appropriate Welsh authority pursuant to the Tithe Act 1936. Held The Welsh Commissioners, so long as they held the tithe rent-charges, were lay impropriators and accordingly under a chancel repair liability. Tithe rent charges representing rectorial property of the parish, were held by the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. Other tithe rent-charges were held by a limited company. Plymouth Estates Ltd plainly and admittedly remain liable for chancel repair. The obligation of a rector to repair the chancel was ‘an obligation imposed by common law’. If the tithe rent charge gets into the hands of a lay impropriator at anytime it is held subject to the liability to repair’ and ‘impropriation exists where the property is in lay hands.’

Judges:

Viscount Simon LC, Lord Wright, Lord Porter

Citations:

[1944] AC 228

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedParochial Church Council of the Parish of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley, Warwickshire v Wallbank and another HL 26-Jun-2003
Parish Councils are Hybrid Public Authorities
The owners of glebe land were called upon as lay rectors to contribute to the cost of repairs to the local church. They argued that the claim was unlawful by section 6 of the 1998 Act as an act by a public authority incompatible with a Convention . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Land

Updated: 16 June 2022; Ref: scu.184048

Shergill and Others v Khaira and Others: ChD 3 Mar 2017

The court considered the identification of one of the ancient Sikh gurus in order to ascertain the rights of current gurdwaras

Judges:

Purle QC HHJ

Citations:

[2017] EWHC 883 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See AlsoKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 17-Jul-2012
The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable. . .
See AlsoShergill v Khaira and Others CA 2-Oct-2012
. .
At SCShergill and Others v Khaira and Others SC 11-Jun-2014
The parties disputed the trusts upon which three Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples) were held. The Court of Appeal had held that the issues underlying the dispute were to be found in matters of the faith of the Sikh parties, and had ordered a permanent stay. . .
See AlsoKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others ChD 23-Mar-2016
. .

Cited by:

See AlsoKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 27-Oct-2017
‘This appeal raises technical but important issues on the entitlement of a party who is awarded the costs of an interlocutory appeal to an immediate assessment of those costs. Two issues of general application arise. First, is the party entitled to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 14 June 2022; Ref: scu.581966

Khaira and Others v Shergill and Others: CA 17 Jul 2012

The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable.
Held: The appeal was allowed. There were no ‘judicial or manageable standards’ by which the issues could be judged, because they turned on the question ‘who is ‘the successor’ of the original founder of the temple trusts’, which was an issue which ‘depends on the religious beliefs and practices of Sikhs generally and the Nirmal Kutia Sikh institution in particular’, and which ‘is not justiciable by the English courts’
The issues were non-justiciable: ‘non-justiciability is a salutary principle of judicial self-restraint. It ensures that judges do not overreach themselves and that they abstain from deciding questions that are neither appropriate for, nor capable of decision by, judicial method. Judges are not capable of understanding and deciding everything and it is not their function to do so. Judges are not omniscient. The courts they sit in are courts of law. There are matters on which a court is not competent to speak with authority, because of the limitations inherent in the nature of the judicial process, and therefore should not speak. That is so where the questions are not matters of law at all, such as subjective inward matters incapable of proof by direct evidence or by inference . . The deeds are silent on the criteria to be applied by another person who is asked to decide the question. It is not just a legal exercise in the construction of English trust deeds. It will be necessary to investigate the doctrines and practices of Sikhism in order to determine the criteria relevant to the claim of the 9th claimant to be successor of the First Holy Saint. In my view, the question of succession is essentially a matter of professed subjective belief and faith on which secular municipal courts cannot possibly reach a decision, either as a matter of law or fact.’

Judges:

Mummery, Hooper, Pitchford LJJ

Citations:

[2012] EWCA Civ 983, [2012] WLR(D) 214, [2012] PTSR 1697

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Charities Act 1993 33

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedGeneral Assembly of Free Church of Scotland v Overtoun HL 1904
Craigdallie stated settled law: ‘My Lords, I disclaim altogether any right in this or any other civil court of this realm to discuss the truth or reasonableness of any of the doctrines of this or any other religious association, or to say whether . .
CitedButtes Gas and Oil Co v Hammer (No 3) HL 1981
In a defamation action, issues arose as to two conflicting oil concessions which neighbouring states in the Arabian Gulf had granted over their territorial and offshore waters. The foreign relations of the United Kingdom and Iran were also involved . .
CitedRegina v Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, Ex parte Wachmann 1992
A local rabbi sought judicial review of the declaration of the Chief Rabbi, following an investigation into allegations of adultery with members of his congregation, that he was religiously and morally unfit to occupy his position.
Held: Simon . .
CitedRegina v The Imam of Bury Park Mosque, Luton and others ex parte Sualiman Ali CA 12-May-1993
The court had been asked to intervene in an internal dispute as to the role of an Imam in a mosque community.
Held: The request was denied. The case was not one of public law: ‘ the particular function which the Imam was performing affected . .
CitedRegina v Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral and Church In Wales ex parte Williamson Admn 22-Aug-1997
The claimant, subject to a vexatious litigant order under the 1981 Act, sought leave to bring judicial review proceedings of a decision by the respondents to appoint a woman to the position of Minor Canon in the cathedral.
Held: Permission was . .
CitedVarsani and others v Jesani, Patel and Her Majesty’s Attorney-General CA 3-Apr-1998
A Hindu religious sect, constituted as a charity, had split into two factions.
Held: The court had jurisdiction to order that the assets of the sect should be divided under the powers in the Act, and held upon separate trusts for the two . .
CitedRegina v Provincial Court of Church In Wales ex parte Reverend Williams Admn 23-Oct-1998
No judicial review was available of the decision of a court of the disestablished Church in Wales removing a minister for misconduct. . .
CitedBlake v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 31-Jul-2003
The claimant, a former Anglican priest, sued in defamation. The defendant argued that the claim was non-justiciable since it would require the court to adjudicate on matters of faith and religious doctrine.
Held: The claim could not be heard. . .
CitedHH Sant Baba Jeet Singh Ji Maharaj v Eastern Media Group and Another QBD 17-May-2010
The claimant, a Sikh religious leader complained of defamation in a Sikh journal in England. The defendant said the claim was non-justiciable since it required the court to pronouce on a matter of religious doctrine.
Held: The plea of . .
CitedShergill v Purewal and Another QBD 15-Dec-2010
The court was asked to rule that the action in defamation was non-justiciable depending for its outcome on matters of intepretation of the Sikh faith.
Held: the action was stayed. . .
CitedShergill v Purewal and Another CA 22-Jun-2011
The claimant’s defamation action had been stayed as unjusticiable. The second defendant now appealed against an order for costs against it.
Held: The appeal against the costs order was allowed. . .
CitedAttorney-General v Pearson 1817
No Alteration to Charty’s Objects
A protestant dissenters’ meeting house in Wolverhampton which was declared by a trust deed to be held for ‘the worship and service of God’ was the subject of a dispute between the schismatic congregation. The issue was the nature of the worship . .
CitedPercy v Church of Scotland Board of National Mission HL 15-Dec-2005
The claimant appealed after her claim for sex discrimination had failed. She had been dismissed from her position an associate minister of the church. The court had found that it had no jurisdiction, saying that her appointment was not an . .

Cited by:

Appeal fromShergill and Others v Khaira and Others SC 11-Jun-2014
The parties disputed the trusts upon which three Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples) were held. The Court of Appeal had held that the issues underlying the dispute were to be found in matters of the faith of the Sikh parties, and had ordered a permanent stay. . .
Main JudgmentShergill v Khaira and Others CA 2-Oct-2012
. .
CA CostsShergill and Others v Khaira and Others SC 11-Jun-2014
The parties disputed the trusts upon which three Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples) were held. The Court of Appeal had held that the issues underlying the dispute were to be found in matters of the faith of the Sikh parties, and had ordered a permanent stay. . .
CitedBelhaj and Another v Straw and Others SC 17-Jan-2017
The claimant alleged complicity by the defendant, (now former) Foreign Secretary, in his mistreatment by the US while held in Libya. He also alleged involvement in his unlawful abduction and removal to Libya, from which had had fled for political . .
See AlsoKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others ChD 23-Mar-2016
. .
See AlsoShergill and Others v Khaira and Others ChD 3-Mar-2017
The court considered the identification of one of the ancient Sikh gurus in order to ascertain the rights of current gurdwaras . .
See AlsoKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 27-Oct-2017
‘This appeal raises technical but important issues on the entitlement of a party who is awarded the costs of an interlocutory appeal to an immediate assessment of those costs. Two issues of general application arise. First, is the party entitled to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Ecclesiastical, Trusts

Updated: 14 June 2022; Ref: scu.462895

Hasan and Chaush v Bulgaria: ECHR 26 Oct 2000

The Grand Chamber considered executive interference in the appointment of the Chief Mufti of the Bulgarian Muslims: ‘Where the organisation of the religious community is at issue, Article 9 must be interpreted in the light of Article 11 of the Convention which safeguards associative life against unjustified State interference. Seen in this perspective, the believer’s right to freedom of religion encompasses the expectation that the community will be allowed to function peacefully free from arbitrary State intervention. Indeed, the autonomous existence of religious communities is indispensable for pluralism in a democratic society and is thus an issue at the very heart of the protection which Article 9 affords. It directly concerns not only the organisation of the community as such but also the effective enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion by all its active members’ The court ‘recalls that, but for very exceptional cases, the right to freedom of religion as guaranteed under Convention excludes any discretion on the part of the State to determine whether religious beliefs or the means used to express such beliefs are legitimate.’ Not every act which is in some way motivated or inspired by religious belief is to be regarded as the manifestation of religion.
The court considered the need for precision in the formulation of law and said: ‘For domestic law to meet these requirements [that is, of accessibility and foreseeability] it must afford a measure of legal protection against arbitrary interferences by public authorities with the rights safeguarded by the Convention. In matters affecting fundamental rights it would be contrary to the rule of law, one of the basic principles of a democratic society enshrined in the Convention, for a legal discretion granted to the executive to be expressed in terms of an unfettered power. Consequently, the law must indicate with sufficient clarity the scope of any such discretion conferred on the competent authorities and the manner of its exercise.
The level of precision required of domestic legislation – which cannot in any case provide for every eventuality – depends to a considerable degree on the content of the instrument in question, the field it is designed to cover and the number and status of those to whom it is addressed.’

Citations:

30985/96, (2002) 34 EHRR 55, [2000] ECHR 509, (2002) 34 EHRR 1339, [2000] ECHR 511

Links:

Worldlii, Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights 9 11

Cited by:

CitedRegina (Amicus etc) v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Admn 26-Apr-2004
The claimants sought a declaration that part of the Regulations were invalid, and an infringement of their human rights. The Regulations sought to exempt church schools from an obligation not to discriminate against homosexual teachers.
Held: . .
CitedBegum, Regina (on the Application of) v Denbigh High School Admn 15-Jun-2004
A schoolgirl complained that she had been excluded from school for wearing a form of attire which accorded with her Muslim beliefs.
Held: The school had made great efforts to establish what forms of wear were acceptable within the moslem . .
CitedRegina v Secretary of State for Education and Employment and others ex parte Williamson and others HL 24-Feb-2005
The appellants were teachers in Christian schools who said that the blanket ban on corporal punishment interfered with their religious freedom. They saw moderate physical discipline as an essential part of educating children in a Christian manner. . .
CitedSB, Regina (on the Application of) v Denbigh High School CA 2-Mar-2005
The applicant, a Muslim girl sought to be allowed to wear the gilbab to school. The school policy which had been approved by Muslim clerics prohibited this, saying the shalwar kameeze and headscarf were sufficient. The school said she was making a . .
CitedThe New Testament Church of God v Reverend Stewart CA 19-Oct-2007
The appellant appealed a finding that the respondent had been its employee, saying he was a minister of religion.
Held: The judge had been entitled to find an intention to create legal relations, and therefore that the claimant was an . .
CitedPurdy, Regina (on the Application of) v Director of Public Prosecutions and Another QBD 29-Oct-2008
The applicant suffered mutiple sclerosis and considered that she might wish to go abroad to end her life. She asked the court to make more clear the guidance provided by the Director as to whether her partner might be prosecuted under section 2(1) . .
CitedPurdy, Regina (on the Application of) v Director of Public Prosecutions and Another Admn 29-Oct-2008
The applicant said that the defendant had unlawfully failed to provide detailed guidance under section 10 of the 1985 Act, on the circumstances under which a prosecution might lie of a person performing acts which might assist another to commit . .
CitedMarper v United Kingdom; S v United Kingdom ECHR 4-Dec-2008
(Grand Chamber) The applicants complained that on being arrested on suspicion of offences, samples of their DNA had been taken, but then despite being released without conviction, the samples had retained on the Police database.
Held: . .
CitedPurdy, Regina (on the Application of) v Director of Public Prosecutions HL 30-Jul-2009
Need for Certainty in Scope of Offence
The appellant suffered a severe chronic illness and anticipated that she might want to go to Switzerland to commit suicide. She would need her husband to accompany her, and sought an order requiring the respondent to provide clear guidelines on the . .
Principal judgmentHasan and Chaush v Bulgaria ECHR 2-Dec-2011
. .
CitedThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v United Kingdom ECHR 4-Mar-2014
latterdayECHR0314
The claimant said that it had been wrongfully deprived of relief from business rates for its two temples. It asserted that it was a religion, and that the treatment was discriminatory. The government said that the refusal was on the basis alone that . .
CitedNicklinson and Another, Regina (on The Application of) SC 25-Jun-2014
Criminality of Assisting Suicide not Infringing
The court was asked: ‘whether the present state of the law of England and Wales relating to assisting suicide infringes the European Convention on Human Rights, and whether the code published by the Director of Public Prosecutions relating to . .
CitedKenward and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v The Director of Public Prosecutions and Another Admn 4-Dec-2015
The claimants challenged the policy issued by the DPP on assisted suicide following the Nicklinson case.
Held: The request for judicial review was refused.
Sir Brian Leveson P said: ‘It is important not to misunderstand the effect either . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 04 June 2022; Ref: scu.165967

Cheesman v Church Commissioners (Pastoral Measure 1983): PC 17 Mar 1999

A decision to transfer parishes from the area of one incumbent, reducing the benefice was not to be challenged if the transfer was genuinely intended to benefit the spiritual good of the parishioners, despite earlier failure in a challenge to the incumbent.

Citations:

Times 18-Mar-1999, [1999] UKPC 12

Links:

Bailii, PC, PC, PC

Statutes:

Pastoral Measure 1983, Incumbents (Vacation of Benefices) Measure 1977

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 01 June 2022; Ref: scu.159344

Captain Geoffrey Hargreaves and others v The Church Commissioners: PC 12 Apr 1983

The scheme under challenge, provided for the merger of two benefices, but with the two parishes remaining separate. The incumbent was to live in one parish.
Held: The church had undertaken proper consultation first. The church authorities also had to be properly consulted. The appeal to the Council is one on the merits. Though genuine reasons did exist for having the incumbent live in Copythorne, the decision to have him live in the other was equally supported on et facts, and would not be set aside.

Judges:

Lord Keith Of Kinkel, Lord Scarman, Lord Brightman

Citations:

[1983] UKPC 1

Links:

Bailii, PC, PC

Statutes:

Pastoral Measure 1968

Citing:

CitedElphick v The Church Commissioners PC 1974
The appellants challenged an order declaring a local church redundant, saying the procedure had not been followed.
Held: Under section 8 the Committee could consider de novo any scheme submitted to them, but would only reluctantly depart from . .
CitedLittle Leigh Parochial Church Council v The Church Commissioners 1960
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.159149

Wallbank and Wallbank v Parochial Church Council of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote With Billesley, Warwickshire: CA 17 May 2001

The defendant owned land subject to an inclosure award of 1743, in exchange for other land which had made the owner a lay rector. The land was subject to the burden of a duty to maintain the chancel of the parish church. The defendants had been found liable to repair the chancel, but appealed on the basis that the Council was a public authority and the notice was served in breach of the defendants human rights to peaceful enjoyment of their land. By attaching what was in effect a tax to private land, the law allowed discrimination between land ownership. It was neither appropriate not proportionate to single out former glebe land as having responsibility to maintain public buildings.

Citations:

Gazette 01-Jun-2001, Times 15-Jun-2001, Gazette 21-Jun-2001, [2001] EWCA Civ 713, [2002] Ch 51

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Human Rights Act 1998, Chancel Repairs Act 1932

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal fromParochial Church Council of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote With Billesby, Warwickshire and Another ChD 7-Feb-2000
A lay rector could be liable for the physical upkeep of the chancel of the church by virtue of the Act, and such liability was not removed by the new Human Rights Act. Such liability could exist whether or not he had notice of the liability when . .

Cited by:

Appeal from (Disapproved)Parochial Church Council of the Parish of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley, Warwickshire v Wallbank and another HL 26-Jun-2003
Parish Councils are Hybrid Public Authorities
The owners of glebe land were called upon as lay rectors to contribute to the cost of repairs to the local church. They argued that the claim was unlawful by section 6 of the 1998 Act as an act by a public authority incompatible with a Convention . .
CitedRegina v Lambert HL 5-Jul-2001
Restraint on Interference with Burden of Proof
The defendant had been convicted for possessing drugs found on him in a bag when he was arrested. He denied knowing of them. He was convicted having failed to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that he had not known of the drugs. The case was . .
CitedRegina v Kansal (2) HL 29-Nov-2001
The prosecutor had lead and relied at trial on evidence obtained by compulsory questioning under the 1986 Act.
Held: In doing so the prosecutor was acting to give effect to section 433.
The decision in Lambert to disallow retrospective . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Land, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.147549

Sir David Cunningham, Bart v Wm Wardrobe; Mr John Warden; James Waddel; Mr John Scot; George White; William Meek, and Others, Heritors and Inhabitants of The Parish of Whitburn: HL 20 Dec 1762

Church Patronage – Right to Present. –
The parish of Livingstone, of which the appellant was patron, was large; and it occurred to some of the heritors and inhabitants, that a new church, and a division of the parish would be a desirable object. They subscribed funds to purchase lands, and to mortify the same for the support of a minister. The deed of foundation vested the management of these, and the election of the minister in the heritors and kirk-session of Whitburn, and excluding the patron therefrom. The parish was divided, and a new erection obtained under the name of the parish of Whitburn. The patron had given a qualified consent to this erection, reserving his own rights. In an action at the patron’s instance, held that he had no right to present the minister, or to the vacant stipends. Reversed in the House of Lords, and held him to have right to both.

Citations:

[1762] UKHL 6 – Paton – 734, (1762) 6 Paton 734

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 29 May 2022; Ref: scu.560601

Williamson v Archbishop of Canterbury Archbishop of York Church Commissioners: CA 5 Sep 1996

Parties sought to challenge the decision to allow ordination of women by the church.
Held: The merits of a religious controversy are a matter on which the court is not entitled to hold any opinion. The measures had been made under the procedure set up by the 1919 Act which gave power to the Synod to make them. That Act and the procedure followed and the Measures were not contrary to the Coronation Oath of the Queen.

Citations:

[1996] EWCA Civ 600

Statutes:

Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, Priest (Ordination of Women) Measure, The Ordination of Women (Financial Provisions) Measure

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal fromWilliamson v Archbishop of Canterbury and Others ChD 25-Nov-1994
Church of England has the power to pay properly ordained women priests. Measures providing for ordination were valid – within Parliament’s power. . .

Cited by:

Appealed toWilliamson v Archbishop of Canterbury and Others ChD 25-Nov-1994
Church of England has the power to pay properly ordained women priests. Measures providing for ordination were valid – within Parliament’s power. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical, Constitutional

Updated: 29 May 2022; Ref: scu.140467

Santokh Singh v Guru Nanak Gurdwara: CA 1990

A Granthi, a priest, at a Sikh temple was not employed under a contract of service.

Citations:

[1990] ICR 209

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedThe New Testament Church of God v Reverend Stewart CA 19-Oct-2007
The appellant appealed a finding that the respondent had been its employee, saying he was a minister of religion.
Held: The judge had been entitled to find an intention to create legal relations, and therefore that the claimant was an . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 28 May 2022; Ref: scu.259925

Regina v Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral and Church In Wales ex parte Williamson: Admn 22 Aug 1997

The claimant, subject to a vexatious litigant order under the 1981 Act, sought leave to bring judicial review proceedings of a decision by the respondents to appoint a woman to the position of Minor Canon in the cathedral.
Held: Permission was refused. He had no prospect of success, and the proceedings woud amount to an abuse of court proceedings. The claimant’s previous conduct was not, on any view, a matter which was irrelevant to any application for leave.

Judges:

Sedley J

Citations:

[1997] EWHC Admin 784, [1998] C0D 130

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Supreme Court Act 1981 42(3)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedKhaira and Others v Shergill and Others CA 17-Jul-2012
The parties disputed the trusteeship and governance of two Gurdwaras (Sikh temples). The defendants now applied for the claim to be struck out on the basis that the differences were as to Sikh doctrines and practice and as such were unjusticiable. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Litigation Practice, Ecclesiastical

Updated: 26 May 2022; Ref: scu.137729

Attorney-General v Dean and Chapter of Ripon Cathedral: ChD 1945

Uthwatt J said: ‘The law is one, but jurisdiction as to its enforcement is divided between the ecclesiastical courts and the temporal courts’

Judges:

Uthwatt J

Citations:

[1945] 1 Ch 239

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedParochial Church Council of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote With Billesby, Warwickshire and Another ChD 7-Feb-2000
A lay rector could be liable for the physical upkeep of the chancel of the church by virtue of the Act, and such liability was not removed by the new Human Rights Act. Such liability could exist whether or not he had notice of the liability when . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 20 May 2022; Ref: scu.622607

In re St Luke the Evangelist’s Church, Maidstone: CArc 7 Oct 1994

The vicar and churchwardens appealed a refusal of a faculty to allow them to re-orient the services within the church to face to the south from the east.
Held: The Chancellor’s powers under the 1961 Measure had not been not reduced by the 1991 Measure. The newer measure controlled those bodied with care and conservation of the churches, and there existed a strong presumption against any change which would damage such characteristics, and therefore a requirement for strong evidence to show the need for any such change. A compelling reason might include the pastoral wellbeing of the church. Irreversible changes were to be avoided if possible. The appeal was allowed.

Judges:

Sir John Owen, Dean of Arches, Judge Michael Chancellor, Cameron QC (Chancellor)

Citations:

Times 07-Oct-1994, [1995] 1 All ER 321, [1994] 3 WLR 1165

Statutes:

Care Of Churches And Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991 1, Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedIn Re St Anne’s Church, Wrenthorpe ConC 12-Oct-1993
The disposal of gifts to the church was to be at the discretion of the Conistory Court; The vicar and wardens of the church had title to such property. . .
CitedIn Re St Barnabas’ Church Dulwich ConC 14-Dec-1993
(Southwark Consistory Court) The church had been badly damaged by fire, and a faculty was sought for its demolition and closure.
Held: The measure required such a decision to take account of local worship needs. Under s17, the court must allow . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 20 May 2022; Ref: scu.89473

Elphick v The Church Commissioners: PC 1974

The appellants challenged an order declaring a local church redundant, saying the procedure had not been followed.
Held: Under section 8 the Committee could consider de novo any scheme submitted to them, but would only reluctantly depart from a decision of the Pastoral Committee. The appellants would have to show sufficient proper objection. On the facts of this case there was no such sufficient reason.

Judges:

Dipock, Cross of Chealsea, Kilbrandon LL

Citations:

[1974] AC 562, [1974] 2 WLR 756

Statutes:

Pastoral Measures Act 1968 8(4)

Jurisdiction:

Commonwealth

Cited by:

CitedCaptain Geoffrey Hargreaves and others v The Church Commissioners PC 12-Apr-1983
The scheme under challenge, provided for the merger of two benefices, but with the two parishes remaining separate. The incumbent was to live in one parish.
Held: The church had undertaken proper consultation first. The church authorities also . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Ecclesiastical

Updated: 19 May 2022; Ref: scu.182313