The legal and socio-cultural effects of the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights on religious freedom in Europe

Abstract

During the last years, the judgements pertaining to the right to freedom of religion delivered by the European Court of Human Rights have been the subject of much criticism. Such criticism revolves around the effects, both legal and socio-cultural, which are inevitably brought about by the temperament of the European Court's decisions. This work looks at the Court's definition of freedom of religion by looking directly at the principles applied in the Court's case law. By studying in detail a number of judgements, this dissertation will emphasise on the fact that the repercussions of any legal decision are both legal and socio-cultural in nature. It aims at achieving this by first presenting a general outlook about the Court and the Convention. This is followed by. a discussion on both the place of religion in the socio-cultural sphere of Europe and the legal provisions on freedom of religion which are applied in a number of contracting parties. It then moves on to study the forum internum and delves into the issue of proselytism by looking at Kokkinakis v. Greece in detail. The last two Chapters both deal with religion in the public sphere by discussing in detail the cases of Sahin v. Turkey and Lautsi v. Italy. This dissertation aims to prove that, through the legal and socio-cultural effects of the judgements delivered by the European Court of Human Rights, the latter is shaping the right to freedom of religion for millions of Europeans.