Christopher Baker and Rea Murray are to be in a ground-breaking case in the Supreme Court.
Permission to appeal has been granted by the the Supreme Court in R (Z and others) v (1) Hackney LBC and (2) Agudas Israel Housing Association [2019] EWCA Civ 1099; [2019] HLR 44.
Christopher Baker and Rea Murray, instructed by Asserson Law Offices, represent the housing association who successfully defended the claim in both the Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal.
The courts below both held that it was lawful under the Equality Act 2010 for the small, charitable Orthodox Jewish housing association to operate a housing allocation policy which restricted the provision of properties to members of the Orthodox Jewish Community.
The issues to be considered by the Supreme Court relate to the defences of positive action and the charities exemption under ss158 and 193 respectively of the Equality Act 2010.
This will be a landmark case, as it is the first time these defences will have been considered by the Supreme Court.