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Switzerland minaret ban challenged in Europe rights court

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The lawyer for a Swiss Muslim said Wednesday that his client has filed a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) challenging Switzerland's recent vote to ban the construction of minarets. Hafid Ouardiri, a former spokesman at the Geneva Mosque, alleges that the ban violates his rights to freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination under Articles 9, 13, and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR could take up to 18 months to decide whether to hear Ouardiri's complaint, and then it could be several more years before the court rules on the merits. Last week, a group of Swiss intellectuals called for the ban's reversal. Swiss Supreme Court President Lawrence Meyer also said last week that two suits have been filed in federal court challenging the ban's legality. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has condemned the ban as a form of religious discrimination. Last year, the Swiss government announced that Swiss nationalist parties had gathered enough signatures on their initiative against the construction of minarets to force a national referendum on whether the country's constitution should be amended to ban the structures. The initiative was originally sponsored by the anti-immigrant Swiss People's Party (SVP).

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 16, 2009 (boomark / email).