The European Court of Human Rights and the Freedom of Religion or Belief is the first systematic analyis of the Court's first twenty-five years of jurisprudence on one of the most hotly contested areas of human rights.

Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The protection it affords is of such significance that the judges of the European Court of Human Rights regard it as one of the cornerstones of d'mocratic society. The freedoms Article 9 guarantees have two essential aspects: internal, covering the freedom to hold convictions and beliefs, and external, covering the freedom to manifest one's convictions and beliefs. The first of these freedoms is absolute, the second relative, but in neither case can their importance be undervalued.

The essays and articles selected for this volume analyze what is generally understood by freedom of religion and belief in today’s world. The different aspects of this fundamental right are considered from the contents of freedom of religion, to the possible limitations of this freedom; and from the freedom of, or freedom from, conundrum to the question of the collective or individual right. This volume reflects legal, philosophical and international perspectives, addresses numerous unanswered questions and offers an effective overview of the current literature and debate in this aspect of the discipline of law and religion.

The scale and variety of acts of religious intolerance evident in so many countries today are of enormous contemporary concern. This 2005 study attempts a thorough and systematic treatment of both Universal and European practice. The standards applicable to freedom of religion are subjected to a detailed critique, and their development and implementation within the UN is distinguished from that within Strasbourg, in order to discern trends and obstacles to their advancement and to highlight the rationale for any apparent departures between the two systems. This dual focus also demonstrates the acute need for the European Court to heed the warnings from various patterns of violation throughout the world illustrated by the Human Rights Committee and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.

This book offers an in-depth analysis of a fundamental human freedom and a cornerstone of democracy: the Freedom of Religions or Beliefs (FoRB). The book focuses on the legal protection and promotion of FoRB in Europe because, in this context, exercising this right goes beyond a mere internal positioning in terms of legislation; rather, it is influenced by international and supranational case law, as well as the promotional activities of selected non-state subjects of international law. The content is divided into three sections: Part I on the European Convention of Human Rights, Part II on the EU, and Part III on other international actors. The first two Parts examine FoRB in its systematic aspects and “day-to-day” aspects. In contrast, the third Part highlights the promotional activities carried out by the Holy See, the ILO, the Council of Europe (“beyond the Strasbourg Court”), and the OSCE to promote, recommend or otherwise support it. Overall, the volume highlights how the exercise of FoRB can be ensured via international and supranational legal protection (both normative and judicial) and via promotional activities aimed at encouraging and helping states guarantee tolerance and pluralism in their national legislation. The 16 main chapters offer a broad overview of the topic under investigation. Each contribution can be seen as a stand-alone study and, simultaneously, as a link in a chain of legal analysis that connects multiple FoRB-focused questions. The book offers a valuable tool for all readers with an academic or professional interest in FoRB and those who have to address the issue of how to protect this freedom. It is intended not only for academics who work in the field of law but also for legal practitioners (judges, lawyers, diplomats), human rights advocates, members of religious and spiritual communities, policymakers and students.

This commentary on freedom of religion or belief provides a comprehensive overview of the pressing issues of freedom of religion or belief from an international law perspective.

This book includes a collection of studies focused on engagements of religious minorities with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Beginning with an introduction of the global importance of the ECtHR as a standard setter in the protection of religious minority rights, the subsequent five chapters entail critical assessments of some of the Court’s case law dealing with religious minority claims (exploring their clarity and consistency – or lack thereof – and controversiality). In the process these texts impart a nuanced perspective on the challenges the Court faces in striking the right balance between protecting individual freedoms and respecting state rights to manage ‘nationally’ and ‘culturally’ sensitive matters. The second set of contributions makes readers privy to the varied results of this balancing act on the ground. Specifically, it offers empirically-based insight into the impact of the Court’s religion-related case law on grassroots religious minority groups working to defend their individual and communal rights. The chapters taken together deepen our understanding of the ECtHR in its approach to and impact on religious minorities and offer a rare vantage point on the Court, from the messages its generates to the messages received by religious minorities at the grassroots level. The chapters in this book were originally published in Religion, State & Society, the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs and Democratization.