Religious Symbols and Garments in Public Places – a Theory for the Understanding of S.A.S. v France

ICL Journal ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Sanader

AbstractThis article analyses the ECtHR’s case law on Article 9 ECHR, with an emphasis on displaying religious symbols and garments in public places. It provides a theory for the better understanding of the ECtHR’s poor protection of individual believers and its defer­ence to the member states in the light of a wide margin of appreciation, the lack of a Eu­ropean consensus regarding the role of religion in society in the member states and the absence of an in-depth analysis of proportionality in these cases. With the exception of Ahmet Arslan v Turkey no violation was ever found in the context of religious dresses in public places. Therefore, the article offers an explanation for the Grand Chamber’s judg­ment of S.A.S. v France according to the theory of religion as an ‘adjudication stopper’ for the ECtHR and it argues that this latest judgment was not surprising but in line with the Court’s rather cautious approach.

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-190
Author(s):  
Vibeke Blaker Strand

The reasoning and conclusions reached by the European Court of Human Rights in cases against some Member States that involve prohibitions against the wearing of religious clothes and symbols in public educational institutions have led scholars to argue that introduction of similar prohibitions in other Member States will be in conformity with the Convention. By broadening the spectrum of relevant case-law, this article will argue that the wide margin of appreciation often referred to, conceals that the strictness of review may vary considerably depending on the circumstances of each case. The principle of equal treatment of religious manifestations is introduced as a norm that influences the strictness of review. Further, it is discussed to what extent the aim of preserving gender equality and the aim of avoiding religious pressure may be put forward in order to justify the introduction of prohibitions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 248-282
Author(s):  
Kristin Henrard

The Court’s case law regarding ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities during 2014 reveals that in several respects it leaves (de facto) less margin of appreciation to states, focusing on the effective protection of minorities’ fundamental rights. In other respects, the Court seemingly prefers to not take a clear stance, and rather grants states a wide margin of appreciation. Overall, the Court is adamant about state obligations to tolerate ethnic and religious minorities and to protect them against private violence. Positive state obligations to accommodate minorities and their special needs and special “way of life” appear still too controversial and devoid of European consensus for the Court to take a stance. Nevertheless, the developments pertaining to the Court’s scrutiny of models of state–church relations demonstrate that the “lack of European consensus” is subject to a relative and evolutive assessment.


2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-24
Author(s):  
Herwig Verschueren

This article seeks to provide a clearer picture of the role of methods for funding social security benefits in EC Coordination Regulation 1408/71. In past literature and in the case law surrounding Regulation 1408/71, this role has seldom been mentioned. However, this is changing in light of increasing numbers of questions emerging at both the policy-making level and at the level of Court of Justice proceedings. The first part of this paper deals with the role of different methods of financing social security in determining the material scope of the coordination regulation and the question of whether the method of financing certain benefits has a bearing on this material scope. The second part deals with the existing link within the coordination context between paying or having paid contributions and entitlement to benefits. I discuss, inter alia, the extent to which benefit levels are determined by the same legislation as that which determines contribution levels. I examine the extent to which Member States collecting contributions are also responsible for bearing the cost of the corresponding benefits and the extent to which a person who is paying or has paid contributions is entitled to benefits corresponding to those contributions. In light of this examination of the facts as they stand, I endeavour to consider possible alternatives, including the desirability of having a more direct link within the coordination context between payment of contributions and entitlement to benefits.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katayoun Alidadi

When employees are dismissed or resign because of a conflict between their religion and job duties or expectations, how does this affect their claims to unemployment benefits? How do European countries address this question? The answer has significant consequences for many jobseekers and employees belonging to religious minorities and in many ways excluded from the mainstream labour market, yet the role of religion in the adjudication of European unemployment disputes has so far received limited attention. This article focuses on the role of religious dress in unemployment benefits disputes in Belgium, the Netherlands and Great Britain. It also assesses whether the messaging in relevant case law in the area of unemployment benefits has been sufficiently interlocking with employment law. Finding a level of disconnect, it is argued that an explicit duty of reasonable accommodation in employment would appropriately address the interplay between unemployment benefits and employment law in Europe.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-108
Author(s):  
Henrik Wenander

This article looks into the meaning of the concepts of sincere cooperation, mutual trust, and mutual recognition in EU social security coordination. It analyses the legislative choice of coordination as the main regulatory mechanism in the field, and examines the role of administrative cooperation. Furthermore, the article highlights the challenges that arise in situations where mutual recognition is required under the Regulations, as in connection with portable documents relating to the posting of workers. It also considers the limits to mutual trust via the principle of prohibition of fraud and abuse of rights established in the case law of the CJEU on free movement. In the last few years, this principle has been extended into the field of social security law, notably in Altun. In this way, the coordination regime does not require totally blind trust: rather, it balances the Member States' interests of maintaining the integrity of their social security systems with the Union interest of simplifying free movement. As in other fields of EU law relating to free movement, the mutual trust between the Member States in social security coordination may therefore be set aside in extraordinary cases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-56
Author(s):  
Anna Kosińska

The present study seeks to answer the question whether the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union in cases concerning the exercise of broadly understood cultural policies may in reality affect the extent of implementation of cultural rights—that is, access to products of culture, participation in cultural life and freedom of artistic creativity—at the level of Member States. Cultural rights are traditionally regulated by the constitutions of EU Member States and are classified by legal scholars and commentators as second generation rights. Culture, in turn, according to primary legislation of the European Union, is only a supporting competence (Article 6 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). However, a review of the Court’s case law demonstrates that CJEU’s judgments form standards that contribute to a more effective implementation of cultural rights guaranteed in the national law of the Member States and international agreements to which they are parties. This results from the nature of the Union’s law, which penetrates a national system and thanks to the principle of direct effect and supremacy truly affects the situation of EU citizens.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-139
Author(s):  
Michał Hucał

European states responded in different ways to tensions related to the increase in religious diversity, and the restrictions introduced were considered appropriate when they resulted from public security and the need to protect others, especially if the state presented a credible justification. On this occasion, the case-law of the ECHR developed two key concepts for the determination of the presence of religious symbols in public places: a powerful external symbol and an essentially passive symbol. An important achievement of the Tribunal is also the introduction of the concept of “improper proselytism.” Certainly, a further increase in religious diversity in Europe may lead to new areas of controversy, which will then be assessed by the ECHR. However, the existing instruments used by the Court, such as the idea of the Convention as a living document, the theory of the margin of appreciation or the analysis of the existence of the European consensus, enable it to develop its interpretation in this regard.


HUMANIS ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Made Wicakshana Essa Putra ◽  
I Gst Ngr Tara Wiguna ◽  
Ida Bagus Sapta Jaya

Religion is an important part of human life, because it is considered to have meaning in life. Because it takes an important role in the existence of society and social community. All aspect of religion contained in the inscription have an important role in the reign of the king Ugrasena. The problem discussed in this research was what are the aspects of religion that contained in the inscription during the reign of the king Ugrasena and related to the religious impact to the social life of society during the reign of the King Ugrasena This research used some method of collecting data, analyzing the data, and theory to solve the problem. The method of collecting data that used were observation, literature review, and interview. The next step, the data were procesed by using qualitative analysis, contextual analysis and analysis etnoarchaeology. The theories that used as the basic theory in this research is the theory of religion, ritual theory and fungsional structural theory to determine the role of religion to social life of the society during the reign of King Ugrasena. The results of this study found that the religious aspects, which were  contained in inscriptions during the reign of King Ugrasena that there were the begining of the sects in ancient Bali, religious ceremony, sacred building, the tools of religious ceremony, as well as the religious figures in the erly days of ancient Bali. The role of religion to the social life of the society in the reign of the King Ugrasena showed that religion had a role in the society social interaction such as the basis of reference in the society, and also play a role as the legitimation of the power of King Ugrasena Kingdom


Author(s):  
Lara Redondo Saceda

El artículo 8 del Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos –que protege los derechos al respeto la vida privada y familiar, el domicilio y la correspondencia– se ha configurado en estos setenta años de Convenio como uno de los escenarios habituales del desarrollo del margen de apreciación nacional y la doctrina de las obligaciones positivas del Estado. Esto parece justificarse en el contenido y estructura de este artículo y en las restricciones y limitaciones al ejercicio de estos derechos establecidas por su párrafo segundo. En este marco, el objetivo de este artículo es analizar cuál ha sido el papel del artículo 8 CEDH en el desarrollo de estos estándares interpretativos y cómo ha influido en la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights –which protects the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence– has been configured as a traditional place for the development of the margin of appreciation and the doctrine of State’s positive obligations. The scope and structure of this article and its limitation clause in the second paragraph seem to justify these developments. In this context, the objective of this article is to analyse the role of Article 8 ECHR in the development of these interpretative standards and its influence in the European Court of Human Rights case-law.


2020 ◽  
pp. 9-32
Author(s):  
Tadeusz Jasudowicz

The case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in tax matters has developed in three dimensions. Firstly, it involved Article 1 of the Protocol No. 1 to the Convention with reference to “the payment of taxes”, viewed, notwithstanding the State’s wide margin of appreciation, in the light of the principle of the peaceful enjoyment of one’s possessions. Secondly, from the perspective of Article 6 paragraph 1 of the Convention, tax disputes can be covered by the guarantees of a fair trial where the proceedings and sanctions, for example, concerning tax surcharges, are qualified in their autonomous Convention meaning as a “criminal charge” against the taxpayer. Moreover, despite its traditional case-law, in the last years the Court has seemed to allow the possibility of qualifying tax disputes as concerning “civilrights and obligations” Thirdly, on the basis of Article 4 of Protocol No. 7 to the Convention, the Court has found violations of the prohibition “to be tried or punished again in criminal proceedings” in the context of dual, i.e. tax (administrative) and penal, proceedings. The author critically assesses the Court judgment in the case of A. and B. v. Norway, in which the Court did not find a violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 7. In the Norwegian case, the distinct administrative and penal proceedings were in fact merged, since the state introduced a system of integrated legal answers to taxpayers’ behavior. According to Judge Pinto de Albuquerque, expressing a dissenting opinion, the Court in this judgment wrongly changed its stance from pro persona to pro auctoritate, possibly forgetting that it is a court of humanrights, and not a pleader of raison d’Etat. Although the Court declared that it considers the Convention “as a whole”, and seeks to ensure the consistency of the Convention system and harmony of its provisions, it might have lost sight of ties existing between them. Taxpayers are also individual humansand have a title to human rights, thus tax disputes are those of a human rights nature. Understandably, the ECHR must persist as a Court of Human Rights.


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