Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982
Encyclopedia
The Homosexual Offences Order 1982, No. 1536 (N.I. 19), is an Order in Council which decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults in Northern Ireland
. The Order was adopted as a result of a European Court of Human Rights
case, Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
(1981), which ruled that Northern Ireland's criminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults was a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
The homosexual age of consent
fixed by the Order (18) was higher than the heterosexual age of consent in the rest of Northern Ireland, which had been set at 17 for decades. The ages of consent for homosexual and heterosexual acts in Northern Ireland were eventually equalised at 17 with the passage of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
. To bring Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the United Kingdom
, the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 will lower the age of consent to 16.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The Order was adopted as a result of a European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
case, Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
Dudgeon v the United Kingdom was a European Court of Human Rights case, which held that legislation passed in the nineteenth century to criminalise male homosexual acts in England, Wales and Ireland - in 1980, still in force in Northern Ireland - violated the European Convention on Human Rights...
(1981), which ruled that Northern Ireland's criminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults was a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
The homosexual age of consent
Age of consent
While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
fixed by the Order (18) was higher than the heterosexual age of consent in the rest of Northern Ireland, which had been set at 17 for decades. The ages of consent for homosexual and heterosexual acts in Northern Ireland were eventually equalised at 17 with the passage of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
The Sexual Offences Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the age of consent for male homosexual sexual activities from 18 to that for heterosexual and lesbian sexual activities at 16, or 17 in Northern Ireland...
. To bring Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 will lower the age of consent to 16.
See also
- LGBT rights in the United Kingdom
- Sexual Offences Act 1967Sexual Offences Act 1967The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces...
, the Act which decriminalized homosexual acts in England and Wales. - Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980The Criminal Justice Act 1980 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalized private homosexual acts between two consenting adults in Scotland:"Subject to the provisions of this section, a homosexual act in private shall not be an offence provided that the parties consent...
, the Act which decriminalized homosexual acts in Scotland.