Religion and Law Consortium

The European Court of Human Rights recently communicated several cases concerning church autonomy to the Federal Republic of Germany. Several of these cases deal with religious employment and the question of whether a religious organization may dismiss an employee who does not abide by the tenets of the religion or whether a religious organization may give hiring preference based on the applicant's standing with the church. This site includes details and a link to the text of these cases. The religious employment cases include:

For more cases and other materials concerning Religious Employment, visit our Topics portal by clicking here.

Currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights are cases involving the right of a religious congregation to change denominational affiliation (Svyato-Mykhalivska Parafiya vs. Ukraine), cases involving religious employment, cases involving religious education, cases involving taxation and churches, and other issues. Each of these issues will be discussed by regional experts at the Strasbourg Conference meeting to be held 22 June 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information on a particular topic, please click here. For more information on a particular case, please click here.