One year ago this coming week, on 11 April 2011, France became the first European country to ban the wearing of the burqa and the niqab in public.  While the language of the law was religiously neutral--«Nul ne peut, dans l’espace public, porter une tenue destinée à dissimuler son visage»--it was well understood, amid protests and plaudits, that the primary target of the legislation was the face-obscuring habilements of Muslim women. The French government portrayed the move as a necessary identity measure for public safety, despite the fairly small number of women affected (estimated at 2,000 and perhaps far fewer of France's nearly five million Muslims) and despite the fact that plans for enforcement, while fairly sensitive and humane, belied the ostensible danger that prompted the ban. The deeper impetus for the legislation appeared to be creation of what its supporters viewed as a bulwark protecting the public sphere in France from extremism and inequality. Opponents, in contrast, saw an unnecessarily intrusive government encroachment on a fundamental ... more

Manzanas  Martín v. France (no. 17966/10) – Chamber Judgment 3 April 2012. The applicant, Francisco Manzanas Martín, is a Spanish national who was born in 1926 and lives in Barcelona. He was a minister of the Evangelical Church until he reached retirement age. During his years as a minister, he received remuneration from the Evangelical Church. However, the Church did not pay any social security contributions on his behalf as this was not provided for by the legislation. Mr Manzanas Martín had previously worked as an employee before being ordained and had also been in paid employment for part of his time as a minister. When he applied to the National Social Security Agency for a retirement pension, his application was refused on the grounds that he had not completed the minimum period of pensionable service. Mr Manzanas Martín contends that the decision to refuse him a retirement pension was in breach of the principle of non-discrimination. ... more

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, visited Cyprus from 29 March to 5 April 2012. His fact-finding mission was the first ever to the island by an independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council. Mr. Bielefeldt's eight-day visit included meetings in connection with his mandate with various officials and individuals on the entire island as well as with representatives of religious or belief communities and civil society organizations. The Special Rapporteur’s mandate is to take stock of the situation on the ground in relation ... more

Uploaded by European Court of Human Rights on 9 February 2012

The "Conscience of Europe", which is currently available in 25 languages, is a film about the Court. This documentary, intended for the general public, shows specific examples of cases examined by the Court and considers its prospects over the forthcoming years and the challenges facing it.

26 January 2012 - David Peterson, reporting from Brussels

In a solemn ceremony at the European Parliament on January 24th, marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the newly elected President of the Parliament, Martin Shulz (MEP Germany), spoke movingly to more than three hundred Jewish community representatives from throughout Europe, and the world, about the Holocaust tragedy. He stated ... more

The Court's judicial year was formally opened on Friday 27 January 2012. Some 200 leading judicial figures from across Europe were invited to participate in a seminar on the topic "How to ensure greater involvement of national courts in the Convention system?"

The Court held its annual press conference on Thursday 26 January 2012. On this occasion, Sir Nicolas Bratza, the President of the Court, presented a summary of the Court's activities and its statistics for 2011. He said that the European governments must assume their part of the shared responsibility for the protection of human rights across the continent. In connection with this press conference, the Court released its Annual Report 2011 and 2011 Facts and Figures. On 27 January the Court also released a new video on admissibility conditions ... more

Ireland has assumed the chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for 2012. 

Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore said Ireland would promote peace, security and respect for human rights in line with the values of the organisation. Mr Gilmore said Ireland would draw on its experience to promote ... more

The Oxford Journal of Law and Religion will be officially launched in an event in Oxford on 19 April 2010.The new journal "is introduced to the Oxford Journals collection in response to the recent proliferation of research and writing on the interaction of law and religion cutting across many disciplines." Online ... more

The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians has issued its Report for 2011, on 19 March 2012.

This report portrays the most important developments with regard to freedom of religion, the most striking cases of intolerance and discrimination throughout Europe – and what individuals and institutions say about it. The report includes several statistics as well as analysis of the meaning of freedom of religion in the European context.

Dr. Gudrun Kugler, director of the Observatory, explains: "Studies suggest that 85% of all hate crimes with an anti-religion background ... more