On 24 March 2021 the ruling was handed down in the judicial review of the closure of places of worship in Scotland. Brent Haywood, Partner in our Dispute Resolution and Litigation team, acted on behalf of 27 church leaders who petitioned the Court of Session, instructing Janys Scott QC.
Speaking following the ruling in favour of the petitioners for whom he acted, Brent said:
“Our argument was two-pronged: Firstly, that the Scottish constitution protects the petitioners’ right to worship and that the state had unlawfully encroached into spiritual matters. The separation of church and state is rooted in the constitutional doctrine of ‘the twa kingdoms’. In essence, the state had crossed the line.
“Secondly, the imposition of a blanket ban on public worship amounted to a contravention of the basic right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as enshrined in European Convention on Human Rights. This being so, the court was empowered by the workings of the Scotland Act to grant relief to the petitioners.
"This was a very courageous application to bring before the Court of Session and my clients have been vindicated in standing strong for what they believe, the judge has carefully considered their case and found in their favour ”
In January, the Scottish Government imposed a blanket ban on the gathering of
people for worship as part of measures introduced in response to the Covid-19
pandemic. Brent was instructed to ask Scottish
Ministers to reverse that decision, but this request was refused. On behalf of 27
church leaders, Lindsays then applied to the court for a judicial review of the
government’s ban.
