A Christian university in Canada appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday regarding a court ruling that banned accreditation of its proposed law school based on the school's stance against homosexuality.
In 2014, the Law Society of British Columbia decided to accredit Trinity Western University’s School of Law. However, it revoked the accreditation later that year because of a ‘community covenant’ that all prospective students must sign.
"The community covenant is a solemn pledge in which members place themselves under obligations on the part of the institution to its members, the members to the institution, and the members to one another,” the covenant reads.
The community covenant prohibits "sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman,” which the Society believes discriminates against individuals with same-sex attractions.
In July 2015, a three-judge Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in favor of the Society to revoke accreditation.
Upon losing its accreditation, TWU filed a lawsuit against the Society in August 2015. Later that year, Chief Justice Hinkson ruled that the original decision to accredit the law school should be reinstated, the ruling that the Society appealed on Wednesday.
“As the Chief Justice affirmed in December, the decision to approve TWU law school graduates must be based not on personal opinions and feelings, but on the law and evidence,” said executive director of TWU’s proposed School of Law Earl Phillips, according to Christian Week.
“The evidence shows that TWU teaches its students to work and live with the highest levels of skill and integrity. We hope the Court of Appeal will arrive at the same conclusion.”
