Right to Freedom of Religion

A novel approach to Get refusal: the use of the offence of coercive control to obtain a religious divorce

A novel approach to Get refusal: the use of the offence of coercive control to obtain a religious divorce

For Jewish women, obtaining a religious divorce (Get) can be life-changing. Women denied a Get are considered ‘chained’ to their husband, preventing them from re-marrying within the faith (whilst not...
Parliamentarians and Freedom of Religion or Belief

Parliamentarians and Freedom of Religion or Belief

Parliamentary networks for human rights are not unheard of. Several networks exist which draw attention to the role of parliaments and parliamentarians in the promotion and protection of human rights,...
The Failure of the Right to Freedom of Religion and Belief?: The Case of Southeast Asia

The Failure of the Right to Freedom of Religion and Belief?: The Case of Southeast Asia

The right to freedom of religion or belief (“freedom of religion”) is protected at the international and regional levels in Southeast Asia. Indonesia and Myanmar also protect the freedom of...
Lessons from Sir Henry Brooke: Making Rights Real (II)

Lessons from Sir Henry Brooke: Making Rights Real (II)

In my last post, I argued that the judgment in Gareth Lee v Ashers Bakery is the consequence of the failure to follow a structured human rights assessment. This is...
Lessons from Sir Henry Brooke: Making Rights Real (I)

Lessons from Sir Henry Brooke: Making Rights Real (I)

What if? What if the UK House of Lords (as the UK Supreme Court then was) had left the judgment of Lord Justice Brooke in Begum in the Court of...
Antwerp Court muddies the waters: Belgian Burkini Ban Justified

Antwerp Court muddies the waters: Belgian Burkini Ban Justified

On 18 December 2018, the Antwerp court of first instance held that the burkini ban in the Antwerp Police Regulations does not constitute discrimination based on religion. As opposed to...
Secularism as separation and neutrality: A redefinition of Concepts by the Constitutional Court of Peru

Secularism as separation and neutrality: A redefinition of Concepts by the Constitutional Court of Peru

Last month, the Constitutional Court of Peru issued a judgment in the case 00007-2014-PA/TC, which concerned an application for amparo (constitutional relief) in favour of a teacher. The case began...
The UK Supreme Court and the Gay Marriage Cake: Is ‘Indissociability’ Half-baked?

The UK Supreme Court and the Gay Marriage Cake: Is ‘Indissociability’ Half-baked?

Giving the judgment of the court in Lee v Ashers Baking Co (2018), Lady Hale discusses ‘indissociability’ when determining whether direct discrimination has occurred. Indissociability refers to circumstances in which...
Veil of Discord: France’s Approach to Religious Clothing Condemned by the United Nations Human Rights Committee

Veil of Discord: France’s Approach to Religious Clothing Condemned by the United Nations Human Rights Committee

In three decisions issued on 10 August 2018 and 23 October 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) found that France violated rights guaranteed under the International Covenant on...
The Consequences of the Ashers Cake Judgment

The Consequences of the Ashers Cake Judgment

The Supreme Court has allowed the appeal by Belfast bakery Ashers Bakery and its managers Mr and Mrs McArthur in refusing to bake a cake for Gareth Lee, who had...
Indian Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Women’s Entry into Religious Temple

Indian Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Women’s Entry into Religious Temple

Recently, a (4:1) majority of a five-judge bench of the Indian Supreme Court in Indian Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala upheld the right of women to worship in the...
Religious symbols in schools: Passive and harmless or a powerful threat?

Religious symbols in schools: Passive and harmless or a powerful threat?

In Lautsi v Italy (2012), the applicant argued that the presence of crucifixes in state school classrooms violated students’ Article 9 ECHR right to religious freedom, but the ECtHR deemed...

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