§ Mr. Speedasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if Her Majesty's Government have yet made a decision on the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Jeffrey Dudgeon; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PriorYes. The Government have noted the decision of the European Court of Human Rights that the law on homosexual offences in Northern Ireland is in breach of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Under the convention, Her Majesty's Government have undertaken to abide by decisions of the court in cases
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§ Mr. Mayhew[pursuant to his reply, 18 January 1982, c. 14]: The available information relates to persons arrested for the offence of "interference with vehicles" under section 9 of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 in the period August to November and is given in the following table.
to which they are a party. The Government will, therefore, be taking steps to bring the law on homosexual offences in Northern Ireland into line with that of the rest of the United Kingdom.