The Right to Freedom of Thought in the European Convention of Human Rights

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Patrick O’Callaghan ◽  
Bethany Shiner
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Inner Life ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
The Face ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
The Right

Abstract This paper examines the right to freedom of thought in the European Convention on Human Rights against the background of technological developments in neuroscience and algorithmic processes. Article 9 echr provides an absolute right to freedom of thought when the integrity of our inner life or forum internum is at stake. In all other cases, where thoughts have been manifested in some way in the forum externum, the right to freedom of thought is treated as a qualified right. While Article 9 echr is a core focus of this paper, we argue that freedom of thought is further supported by Articles 8, 10 and 11 echr. This complex of rights carves out breathing space for the individual’s personal development and therefore supports the enjoyment of freedom of thought in its fullest sense. Charged with ‘maintaining and promoting the ideals and values of a democratic society’ as well as ensuring that individual human rights are given ‘practical and effective protection’, this paper predicts that the ECtHR will make greater use of the right to freedom of thought in the face of the emerging challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

scholarly journals The Council of Europe and Sharia: An Unsatisfactory Resolution?

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-212
Author(s):  
Russell Sandberg ◽  
Frank Cranmer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Member States ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
The Right

On 22 January 2019, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe agreed the text of Resolution 2253: Sharia, the Cairo Declaration and the European Convention on Human Rights. The Resolution begins – on an uncontroversial note – by reiterating ‘the obligation on member States to protect the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion as enshrined in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights … which represents one of the foundations of a democratic society’. It then goes on, however, to recall that the Assembly ‘has on several occasions underlined its support for the principle of the separation of State and religion, as one of the pillars of a democratic society’. This statement is not entirely non-contentious: it ignores the situation in several Member States of the Council of Europe and is based more on notions of laÿcitÕ than on the observable facts in countries such as England, Denmark, Finland and Norway that have state Churches. Unfortunately, this simplification and confusion set the tone for what is to follow.

The European Court of Human Rights and Religious Rights

1998 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 680-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W. Edge
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Safety ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
European Court ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
The Right

Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides:1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.2. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

Church Autonomy in the European Court of Human Rights—Recent Developments in Germany

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 281-320
Author(s):  
Gerhard Robbers
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
European Convention ◽  
List Type ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
European Court ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
The Right

The European Court of Human Rights is currently considering several German cases on the autonomy of religious organizations or churches within secular German labor law and resulting conflict resolution issues that arise within religious communities. In the past, the European Court of Human Rights has consistently underlined the importance of church autonomy, relying on the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms Article 9 guarantees of freedom of thought, conscience and religion:Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.Implementing these provisions in the context of religious autonomy, the Court has critically noted:[T]he autonomous existence of religious communities is indispensable for pluralism in a democratic society and is, thus, an issue at the very heart of the protection which Article 9 affords.… The right [of religious communities] to an autonomous existence is at the very heart of the guarantees in Article 9.

Passive Proselytism

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 244-269
Author(s):  
Christine Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Right

Abstract Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to freedom of religion and conscience. The language of Article 9(1) has been interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights as including protections for acts of proselytism, when properly committed and respectful of the rights and freedoms of others. This was the view taken in the foundational Article 9 case of the Court, Kokkinakis v. Greece. In the decades since Kokkinakis, however, the view of the Court on proselytism appears to have shifted, in particular in Article 9 cases involving religious garments. This article seeks to determine whether the Court is consistent in its views on proselytism between these religious garment cases and earlier examples of Article 9 case law.

18. Human rights in action

2021 ◽  
pp. 435-457
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Public Authority ◽  
Right To Life ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

This chapter explores how three Convention rights operate in practice: the right to life (Article 2), the right to a private and family life (Article 8), and freedom of religious belief (Article 9). Article 2 provides that everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of one’s life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following one’s conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. Article 8 provides that everyone has the right to respect for one’s private and family life, home, and correspondence. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law. Meanwhile, Article 9 provides that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change and manifest one’s religion or belief.

European Court of Human Rights

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerem Altiparmak ◽  
Onur Karahanogullari
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Muslim Students ◽  
Fourth Section ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
European Court ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
Grand Chamber

On 10 November 2005 the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (‘Court’) decided the long-running headscarf battle between Muslim students and Turkish universities in the Şahin judgment. On appeal, it held that the prohibition against wearing headscarves on university premises did not violate Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘Convention’) on freedom of thought, conscience and religion. It thereby confirmed the decision of the Fourth Section of the Court of 29 June 2004.

12. Article 9: Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Harris ◽  
Michael O’Boyle ◽  
Ed Bates ◽  
Carla Buckley ◽  
Peter Cumper
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Religious Symbols ◽  
The Past ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
Religious Dress

This chapter discusses Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which covers forms of both religious and non-religious belief. Few articles of the Convention have generated as much controversy as Article 9, from complaints about curbs on religious dress and displays of religious symbols to conflicts over faith at the workplace. In the past two decades, the Court has made important strides in formulating its own guidelines in relation to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

18. Human rights in action

2019 ◽  
pp. 413-436
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Public Authority ◽  
Right To Life ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

This chapter explores how three Convention rights operate in practice: the right to life (Article 2), the right to a private and family life (Article 8), and freedom of religious belief (Article 9). Article 2 provides that everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of one's life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following one's conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. Article 8 provides that everyone has the right to respect for one's private and family life, home, and correspondence. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law. Meanwhile, Article 9 provides that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change and manifest one's religion or belief.

School Bans on the Wearing of Religious Symbols: Examining the Implications of Recent Case Law from the UK

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Howard
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Religious Symbols ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
European Court ◽  
Religious Clothing ◽  
Religious Dress ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right

AbstractThis article examines school bans on the wearing of religious symbols and starts with a discussion of the arguments for the imposition of a ban and the counter arguments against these. The question whether a ban on the wearing of religious clothing in schools is a violation of the right to manifest one's religion as guaranteed by Article 9 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) is analyzed using the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and of the English courts in relation to such bans in education. The cases appear to suggest that such bans can be considered an interference with the right to manifest one's religion under Article 9(1), but that these bans can be justified under Article 9(2) in certain circumstances. Two important considerations in the decision of the courts are the way decisions to ban certain forms of religious dress are made and whether alternative ways of manifesting the religion are available.

Osmanoğlu and Another v. Switzerland

2021 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 443-475
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Article 9 ◽  
Freedom Of Thought ◽  
Mixed Gender

Human rights — Freedom of thought, conscience and religion — Article 9 of European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Compulsory mixed gender swimming lessons in primary schools — Refusal by competent authorities to grant applicants’ daughters exemption from mixed swimming lessons — Whether contested measure interfering with exercise of applicants’ right to freedom of religion — Whether interference justified — Whether having legal basis — Whether pursuing legitimate aim — Whether necessary in a democratic society — Whether proportionate to aims pursued by national authorities — Article 2 of Protocol No 1 lex specialis in relation to Article 9 of Convention — Inapplicability of Article 2 of Protocol No 2 — Reading of Convention as a whole — Whether Switzerland violating Article 9 of European Convention on Human Rights, 1950

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