Legal Journals

Disclose Religion? No.

By pkher

In Alexandridis v. Greece, the European Court of Human Rights recently held that obligating a person to reveal his religion constitutes a violation of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The applicant, a Greek lawyer, alleged that he was asked to reveal whether he was an orthodox Christian when taking the oath of office. The Greek Government in response to the allegation stated that the applicant had been allowed to make a solemn declaration and refrain from disclosing his religion but was unable to exercise this option due to a procedural failure. The court also held there was no effective alternative remedy for the applicant, which qualified as a violation of Article 13, the right to an effective remedy, of the European Convention on Human Rights. For further details on this case, click here.

Full post as published by Harvard International Law Journal Digest on February 22, 2008 (boomark / email).