Religious Freedom in the EU
by Lyonette Louis-Jacques
D’Angelo Law Library, University of Chicago Law School
llou@uchicago.edu
W-4: Researching and Understanding European Union Law
AALL Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, July 23, 2011
Muslim Headscarves
• Muslim veils (BBC)
Introduction
• Preliminary matters: most recent slides at Slideshare.net
• In the beginning…
• “Researching the Right to Wear Religious Garb in Public Schools in Europe:
The Muslim Headscarf Issue: Religion and International Human Rights Law
and Policy” (Lyonette Louis-Jacques, July 8, 2004)(Turkey, France)
• Self-expression, personal identity
• France’s ban on covering your face in public places went into effect April
11, 2011 (about 2000 women)
• Belgium’s ban on covering your face in public goes into effect today, July
23, 2011 (270 women affected)
• Penalising women who wear the burqa does not liberate them (Council of
Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights, July 20, 2011)
• European rights official denounces burqa bans (July 20, 2011)
• Religious freedom, privacy, personal identity/expression/choice v. state
interest in public safety, security, “values” of a democratic society,
equality, non-discrimination, laïcité
European Union
EU
Religions
Persecution
Key Instruments
EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
• Article 10 Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (see
also Article 21 on non-discrimination, Article 22 on
religious diversity, and the Charterpedia)
• Text
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion. This right includes freedom to change religion
or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or in private, to manifest religion or
belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.
2. The right to conscientious objection is recognised in
accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of
this right.
Council of Europe, European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
• Article 9 Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (note that
the EU is in the process of acceding to the CoE Convention)
• Text
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.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Article 18 (United Nations UDHR)
• Text
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 teaching, practice, worship
and observance.
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR)
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Article 18 (UN ICCPR)
Text
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice,
and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or
private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and
teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to
adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such
limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety,
order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the
liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and
moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
Other Instruments
• Employment Framework Directive
(2000/78/EC)(equal treatment in the workplace)
• National constitutions (Venice Commission, gov’t
websites, Oceana/OUP, HeinOnline World
Constitutions Illustrated, etc.
• National legislation and regulations (N-Lex, OSCE
Legislationline, Globalex, Reynolds & Flores’
Foreign Law Guide, etc.)
• Sub-national laws (Länder, e.g.)
• Local, municipal laws
Adjudicative Bodies
Overlapping Jurisdiction
• European Court of Justice (ECJ); see also the
Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA)’s Case-law database)
• European Commission on Human Rights / European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR HUDOC case-law
database); ECHR Country Factsheets, 1959-2010; see
also Strasbourg Consortium resources)
• LexisNexis and Westlaw ECR/ECJ, ECHR/EHRR
• National courts & administrative agencies
• Constitutional courts (Venice Commission’s CODICES
constitutional case-law database)
• United Nations human rights jurisprudence
European Court of Human Rights
Outward
Displays
Crucifix
Italy
• Lautsi and others v. Italy (30814/06, 18 March
2011)(a crucifix in an Italian public school
classroom is [a “passive symbol”] not
incompatible with Article 9 of the Convention)
• Opposing commentary by Lorenzo Zucca
• Selection of documents on the “Crucifix Case”
(European Center for Law & Justice)
Religious Dress
Switzerland
• Dahlab v. Switzerland (primary school teacher
prohibited from wearing Islamic headscarf
(hijab))
Proselytizing
Greece
• Kokkinakis v. Greece (Jehovah’s Witness
convicted of proselytism, a manifestation of
his religious belief)
Mosque/Minaret
Switzerland
• Ouardiri v. Switzerland (application no.
65840/09) and Ligue des Musulmans de
Suisse and Others v. Switzerland (no.
66274/09)
(Prohibition on building minarets in
Switzerland - applications inadmissible as
applicants not “victims” of a violation of the
Convention)
Locating
Books
Subject Headings
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Church and state – Europe / European Union countries
Clothing and dress – Religious aspects
Cults – Law and legislation -- Europe
Freedom of religion – Europe / European Union countries
Hijab (Islamic Clothing) – Law and legislation
Human rights – Religious aspects
Islamophobia - Europe
Law – Europe – Religious aspects
Race discrimination – Europe – Religious aspects
Racism – Europe – Religious aspects
Religion and law – European Union countries
[religion/members] – Legal status, laws, etc. -- [European jurisdiction]
Religion and the state
Religious liberty
Religious minorities – European Union countries
Religious minorities – Law and legislation – Europe
[relevant instrument – e.g. Charter of Fundamental Rights]
“civil rights” / “European Economic Community countries”
Key Terms
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“Freedom of religion”, “religious liberty”
“Religion”, “cult”, “sect”
“Margin of appreciation” doctrine
“Principle of proportionality”
“Principle of subsidiarity”
Intersectionality
“Burqa”, “burka”; “face veil”; “Islamic veil”;
“hijab”; “niqab”; headscarf; “Islamic dress”
Selected Books
• Norman Doe, Law and Religion in Europe: A Comparative Introduction
(OUP, forthcoming October 2011)
• Human Rights in Europe: Commentary on the Charter of Fundamental
Rights of the European Union (Carolina Academic Press, 2010)
• Ronan McCrea, Religion and the public order of the European Union (OUP,
2010)
• Dominic McGoldrick, Human Rights and Religion: The Islamic Headscarf
Debate in Europe (Hart, 2006).
• Religion and Belief Discrimination in Employment: The EU Law (Lucy
Vickers, 2007)
• Kirsten Shoraka, Human Rights and Minority Rights in the European Union
(Routledge, 2010)
• International Encyclopaedia of Laws: Religion (Kluwer Law International)
• Major authors: Carolyn Evans, Malcolm Evans, W. Cole Durham, Jr., Silvio
Ferrari, John Witte, Jr., Gerhard Robbers, Norman Doe, etc.
• Publishers: Brill, Peeters (church and state)
Current Awareness
Journals
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Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law
European Anti-Discrimination Law Review
European Journal for Church and State Research
Islamic Law and Society
Journal of Catholic Legal Studies
Journal of Islamic Law and Culture
Journal of Law and Religion
Journal of Religion and International Affairs
Muslim World Journal of Human Rights
Religion and Human Rights
UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law
Specialized Journal Indexes & Catalogs
• ECLAS (European Commission Libraries
Catalogue)
• ECHR Library Catalog
• Peace Palace Library Catalogue
• ATLA Religion
• Standard legal periodicals indexes, databases
• Non-law: JSTOR, Project Muse (Human Rights
Quarterly), IBZ, FRANCIS
• WorldCat.org; European law library catalogs
• Google Books, Google Scholar
Reports
• International Religious Freedom Report (annual)
• TANDIS (Tolerance and Non-Discrimination
Information System; various reports on hate
crimes, anti-semitism, Islamophobia, etc., in
Europe)
• Religious Freedom in the World
• Surveys of religion in Europe (e.g.
http://www.staff.hum.ku.dk/pluchau/inors/Religi
on_in_Europe_and%20US.pdf
• Religious Freedom (New Europe special edition)
News Sources
Strasbourg Consortium
BBC News
Blogs
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ECHR Blog
Contending Modernities (Religious Freedom)
Chaire de Droit et Religion (Belgium)
Islamophobia Watch Blog
Religion Clause
Religion News Blog
Justia’s Blawgsearch; Google Blog Search
D’Angelo Law Library Blog
– Banned: Hiding Your Face in a French Public Place (September
19, 2010)
– The Burqa – “Mobile Prison” or a Woman’s Right? (July 25,
2010)
Twitter
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@CoEinBrussels
@councilofeurope
@echrnews
@EURightsAgency
People
Resources
Organizations
• Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA)
• European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ,. “Christian-inspired”
NGO)
• European Consortium for Church and State Research
• European Network of Legal Experts in the Non-Discrimination Field
• International Center for Law and Religion Studies (W. Cole Durham,
Jr., Director, ICLRS, Brigham Young University)
• International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS)
• Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
• Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
• Religion and Law Consortium
• Strasbourg Consortium (FORB in the ECHR)
Conclusion
• Researching religious freedom in European Union
countries
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Complex normative framework
Religious minorities, various
Language(s) of the multiple jurisdictions, religion, law
Interdisciplinary, Intersectional
(race/gender/religion/ethnicity, immigrant-status)
– Flux
– People sources
Photo Credits
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CC EU Religions: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Europe_religion_map_en.png
CC “Persecution” (La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelrogers/3192703779/sizes/o/in/photostream/
CC Crucifix (Italy): http://www.flickr.com/photos/anna/373351252/sizes/z/in/photostream/
CC “Outward Displays” (Hindu Temple, Chariot Procession , London, UK):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/velurajah/4871990214/
CC Hindu Temple (London, UK): http://www.flickr.com/photos/belowred/2075629821/
CC St. Thomas Aquinas (“Locating Books”):
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Thomas_Aquinas_in_Stained_Glass.jpg
CC ECHR (“Adjudicative Bodies”): http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahxcjb/1172178280/
CC Mosque (Sweden): http://www.flickr.com/photos/khoogheem/122027294/
CC “Voile” (Veil, in Niqab/Hijab group): http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfgornet/4708585962/in/photostream/
CC Buddhism (Switzerland): http://buddhismswitzerland.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/3.jpg
Nike/Religious wear (photo by Lyonette Louis-Jacques – Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa)
CC “News Updates” (EU Eiffel Tower): http://www.flickr.com/photos/klmircea/2958139380/sizes/l/in/photostream/
CC EU Eiffel Tower:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/2625734757/sizes/l/in/photostream/
CC Germany (European Central Bank): http://www.flickr.com/photos/43102195@N08/4417740330/
CC United Kingdom (Women in London, Burqa): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burqa_in_England_2007.jpg
CC St. Andrew’s Church (Kiev, Ukraine): http://www.flickr.com/photos/thisisbossi/3908506858/
CC “Key Instruments” (stack of German books):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/formanella/253353932/sizes/z/in/photostream/
CC John The Evangelist: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12495774@N02/5775382253/in/photostream/
CC “Questions?” (Burka , London): http://www.flickr.com/photos/50576319@N05/5182201802/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Questions?
• Consult Research Guide and Bibliography
• Contact Lyo Louis-Jacques