International Commission of Jurists, Intervention in Genderdoc-M v Republic of Moldova before the European Court of Human Rights

The ICJ intervened on behalf of the claimant in Genderdoc-M v Republic of Moldova, a case concerning permission to stage a demonstration in support of laws protecting sexual minorities. The ICJ gave an authoritative opinion on the validity of limitation provisions in limiting the rights of LGBT persons, stating that ‘the protection of morals, commonly referred to as public morality, is not and can never be an objective and reasonable justification under Article 14 [ECHR, the right to equality]...Public morality cannot serve to justify a distinction in treatment under the prohibition on discrimination.’