Jurisdiction

Case 5: The facts

Raghib Ahsan was a Labour councillor. Following allegations of vote-fixing and housing irregularities in his council ward, none of which was ever verified, he was not re-selected. He claimed that his non-selection amounted to race discrimination, but the Labour Party said the reason for his non-selection was related to his “old Labour” political views. It pointed out that Asian candidates were re-selected in other wards.

Ahsan won his tribunal claim under section 12 of the Race Relations Act (RRA), on the grounds that the Labour Party was a “qualifying body”; the issue of whether this section applied to his case went to the House of Lords.

The ruling

The House of Lords held that Ahsan should have brought his claim under section 25 of the RRA, which deals with discrimination by associations against members or prospective members; such claims must be brought in a county court, not an employment tribunal. However, as the tribunal had ruled that it was entitled to hear the claim, the parties were bound by its decision.