200 Years of LGBTQIA+ History

From Shadows to Pride — UK & Global Timeline

Source Record

Norris v. Ireland

Why this source is used

Official HUDOC record for the 26 October 1988 judgment extending the Article 8 decriminalisation precedent to Ireland.

Start with the answer

Start with the answer How did international law change LGBTQ+ rights? International law changed LGBTQ+ rights by challenging criminalisation, creating partnership recognition, protecting sexual orientation in constitutions and opening marriage equality. Read the topic guide International Decriminalisation and Recognition International LGBTQ+ legal change moved from decriminalisation rulings to partnership recognition, constitutional protection and marriage equality.

Source Status

Publisher
European Court of Human Rights
Type
legal
Reliability
high
Cited by
3 pages

Source Links

Open original source https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-57547 Accessed 2 June 2026 Open archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-57547

Used by Topics

International Decriminalisation and Recognition

Used by Questions

How did international law change LGBTQ+ rights?

Used by Timeline Events

26 October 1988 LegalInternational

Norris v. Ireland — European Court Extends Decriminalisation Precedent

Irish senator and gay rights campaigner David Norris won a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights which held that Ireland's criminalisation of male homosexual acts violated Article 8 of the European Convention. Building on the 1981 Dudgeon v. UK precedent, the Court confirmed that the mere existence of such laws — even if unenforced — constituted an unjustified interference with the right to private life. The ruling led directly to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland in 1993.