The decision marks another turning point in TWU’s years-long battle to open the country’s first Christian law school. The B.C. Law Society overwhelmingly approved the proposed law school for accreditation in April 2014, but the members later voted to reverse the decision under pressure from LGBT activists, who said the school’s policy against homosexual practice would produce incompetent lawyers.

A Canadian high court has restored the Law Society of British Columbia’s 2014 decision to recognize future graduates of Trinity Western University’s (TWU) law school, a major victory for religious freedom in Canada.

“Trinity Western University is celebrating the British Columbia Supreme Court’s recognition of true Canadian diversity today,” the school said in a statement.

The decision marks another turning point in TWU’s years-long battle to open the country’s first Christian law school. The B.C. Law Society overwhelmingly approved the proposed law school for accreditation in April 2014, but the members later voted to reverse the decision under pressure from LGBT activists, who said the school’s policy against homosexual practice would produce incompetent lawyers.

In a 43-page opinion, B.C. Chief Justice Christopher E. Hinkson cited the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2001 ruling that the British Columbia College of Teachers could not withhold accreditation from TWU graduates based on the school’s beliefs on marriage.

“Although the [B.C. Law Society] contends that the decision does not infringe on TWU’s right to freedom of religion, the evidence in this case and the relevant precedents conclusively establish that the decision does infringe the petitioners’ Charter right to freedom of religion,” Hinkson wrote.

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