Vriend v Alberta, Supreme Court of Canada, [1998] 1 S.C.R. 49D
Judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada finding in favour of a gay man who was dismissed from his job because of his sexual orientation. The Supreme Court held that sexual orientation was indeed a prohibited ground of discrimination and that IRPA should be interpreted as such.
Romer v Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996)
Judgment of the US Supreme Court striking down a state constitutional amendment that prohibited protected status based on homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation.
Toonen v Australia, CCPR/C/50/D/488 (1992)
Landmark decision of the UN Human Rights Committee finding that criminalisation of sexual relations between consenting males is a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Crucially, the Committee noted that the reference to ‘sex’ in Article 26 (equality before the law) and in Article 2(1) (non-discrimination) included sexual orientation.
Modinos v Cyprus, 16 Eur. H.R. Rep 485 (1993)
Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights that the criminalisation of homosexual acts under Section 171 of the Criminal Code of Cyprus violated Article 8 (right to private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Open Door and Dublin Well Woman v Ireland, (14234/88) [1992] ECHR 68 (1992)
Landmark decision of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the limitations to the right to freedom of expression
Commonwealth of Kentucky v Watson, Supreme Court of Kentucky (1992), 842 S.W.2d 487
Judgment of the Supreme Court of Kentucky striking down the state sodomy law. The Court held that the statute violated the protection of privacy and equal protection under the Kentucky Constitution.