COUPLES will now be able to have legally recognised humanist wedding in Northern Ireland, after a model and an international footballer successfully challenged a "discriminatory" law.
The Court of Appeal agreed with Belfast model Laura Lacole and Leeds United and Republic of Ireland star Eunan O'Kane that a prohibition on humanist celebrants performing legally-binding ceremonies in the region would be discriminatory.
However, rather than making the change to the law sought by the couple, the three judges identified a provision within current legislation which enables couples to apply for temporary authorisation for a humanist celebrant to conduct marriages "provides a basis for avoiding such discrimination".
This means the definition of legal marriages in Northern Ireland does not need to be expanded to incorporate specific "beliefs" such as humanist, the court said.
Delivering judgment, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said it is the Registrar General's responsibility to avoid discrimination in relation to a marriage celebrant's background.
"If the Registrar General is satisfied that a couple want a humanist celebrant to officiate at their marriage or civil partnership in order to express their humanist beliefs he should accommodate that request if content that the proposed celebrant will carry out the solemnisation of the marriage according to law," he said.
"Whether or not the authorisation should be for a single marriage or a period of time is a matter for the judgment of the Registrar General exercised lawfully."
Previously, couples seeking humanist weddings were required to have a separate civil registration for it to be officially acknowledged.
Last June, Ms Lacole won her High Court challenge against the General Register Office (GRO) for not authorising the marriage to be overseen by British Humanist Association celebrant Isobel Russo.
Humanism is a non-religious belief system that rejects the concepts of a higher deity or afterlife.
A judge ruled the marriage was a manifestation of the model's beliefs, and her human rights had been breached when she was denied the equal treatment given to religious couples.
He ordered the granting of temporary authorisation for a humanist celebrant to oversee a legally binding wedding, allowing Ms Lacole and Mr O'Kane to get married at a ceremony in Co Antrim.
This judgment was appealed by Attorney General John Larkin and Stormont's Department of Finance and the General Register Office (GRO) for Northern Ireland - although neither party challenged the `authorisation' provision.
Ms Lacole said the yesterday's finding was a "step forward", setting a precedent for couples to have legally recognised humanist weddings in the north as they are able to in the Republic and Scotland.
"I am really happy," she said outside court.
"The fact we are now walking away having the door be opened for the non-religious in Northern Ireland to have a humanist ceremony befitting of their beliefs is amazing.
"So other people can ultimately have the wedding we had, and that was the goal - so we are really happy."
Her solicitor Ciaran Moynagh said it would now be difficult for the GRO to reject future applications for temporary authorisation, given the Appeal Court ruling that a prohibition on legally recognised humanist ceremonies would be discriminatory.
