Ratio Decidendi
The courts can adjudicate on religious disputes where they raise justiciable issues of property or civil rights. The court must identify the relevant religious doctrine and apply it neutrally, without making value judgments about the merits of the doctrine itself.
Hechos
A dispute arose within a Sikh religious community about the trusteeship of Gurdwara properties. The trustees claimed the courts could not adjudicate because the underlying issues were religious in nature.
Resumen de la sentencia
The Supreme Court held that the dispute was justiciable. While courts will not adjudicate on matters of pure religious doctrine, they will determine civil rights and property disputes even where this requires identifying what a religious body believes. The court applies the religious rules neutrally as facts, not as legal doctrine.
Citas clave
"The court does not adjudicate on the truth of religious beliefs or on the validity of particular rites. But when a civil right depends on a religious issue, the court can determine that issue for the purpose of adjudicating on the civil right."
— Lords Neuberger, Sumption and Hodge
Tratamiento posterior
The leading modern authority on justiciability of religious disputes affecting civil rights.