When on 26 June 2012 a German court in Cologne declared male circumcision of children for religious purposes a criminal act, the Strasbourg Consortium immediately publicized news of the court’s ruling and tracked over the ensuing days the swift reaction that followed. For instance, the Consortium published the response of German Chancellor Merkel’s office ("For everyone in the government it is absolutely clear that we want to have Jewish and Muslim religious life in Germany. Circumcision carried out in a responsible manner must be possible ... more

Fusu Arcadie and Others v. the Republic of Moldova (no. 22218/06) - Chamber Judgment 17 July 2012. The applicants, eight Moldovan nationals, allege that the government's failure to issue them with documents necessary for registering their church had violated their rights under Articles 6 § 1, 9 and 11 of the Convention. In its judgment of 17 July 2012, the Court's Third Section declared the applicants' Article 9 complaint admissibile and found a violation and ordered payment to the applicants of EUR 5,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 880 in respect of costs and expenses. It was not necessary to examine separately the complaints under Articles 6 and 11. 

Iorgoiu v. Romania (no. 1831/02) - Chamber Judgment 17 July 2012.  A Romanian citizen imprisoned for fraud complains, inter alia, of violation ... more

Mouvement Raëlien Suisse v. Switzerland (no. 16354/06) — Grand Chamber Judgment 13 July 2012 [no violation of Article 10]. The applicant association is a Swiss non-profit-making association, the national branch of the Raëlian Movement, an organization based in Geneva and founded in 1976 with the stated aim of making initial contact and developing good relations with extraterrestrials. In 2001 it asked the Neuchâtel police headquarters for permission to carry out a poster campaign. Permission was refused, in particular on the grounds that the campaign would be contrary to ... more

A daily (M-F) International Headline News Service focused on freedom of religion or belief is now available free of charge to all interested persons. You may subscribe to the entire service, or to digests specific ... more

19 July 2012.  Documentary: The European Court of Human Rights (Itineris on TV5 Monde [in French, English subtitles]; version française)

27 June 2012. New version of HUDOC search engine launched. (Antoine Buyse, ECHR Blog)  [Online HUDOC User Manual (English)]

26 June 2012. PACE elects judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom.

26 April 2012. Thematic factsheets on the Court’s case-law now available in German and Russian. (Court Press Release) ... more

The Consortium notes the following COMECE Press Release of July 2012:  The future of the European cohesion policy is presently under discussion in the European Council and the European Parliament. Regional policy is an expression of solidarity within the European Union. For Christians, solidarity is a natural expression of their faith. The Churches are convinced that, particularly at a time when the European unification process is facing a severe test, the European ... more

The Strasbourg Consortium joined with the European Centre for Law and Justice as it organized a seminar on the recent case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and of the USA Supreme Court on Church autonomy, in cooperation with the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Européennes: Religion et Société (Bruxelles ... more

The first of the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion Seminars was held 20 April 2012 in the Old Common Room of Balliol College, Oxford, UK. The event was co-sponsored by the Oxford Society for Law and Religion; FORBFocus; the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS, Milan); Brunel Law and Religion Research Group; Centre for the Study of Religion in Public Life, Kellogg College, Oxford; Religion, Law and International Relations Program, Regents Park College, Oxford; the International ... more

Organised by the United Kingdom in the context of its Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Brighton Conference on the future of the European Court of Human Rights took place in Brighton, UK, on 19-20 April 2012. The Conference aimed to achieve agreement on a political declaration on a package of reforms of the Court, between Ministers of the 47 member States of the Council of Europe. 

At previous High-Level conferences held in Interlaken (2010) and Izmir (2011), the member States of the Council of Europe, while recognising the extraordinary contribution ... more

The Oxford Journal of Law and Religion Colloquium, held on the occasion of the publication of the first issue of the Journal, convened on Thursday, 19 April 2012, at Regent's Park College, Oxford, UK, hosted by the Religion Law and International Relations Programme of the Centre for Christianity and Culture. 

Session I of the Colloquium featured a Welcome and Introduction, "Harmony in Dissonance — Directions of the Law and Religion Studies," by Peter Petkoff, Director of Religion, Law and ... more

The Routledge International Handbook of Religious Education
Derek Davis and Elena Miroshnikova, eds.
Routledge (August) 2012

The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security
Chris Seiple, Dennis Hoover, ... more

The first issue of The Oxford Journal of Law and Religion appeared in print on 1 April 2012. The new  journal was "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 access to the first issue and advance access to subsequent issues is available freely online during 2012, at the Journal's website.

Writes Rhodri Jackson, OUP Publisher, Law: "The journal aims to redefine the interdependence of law, humanities, and social sciences within the widening parameters of the study of law and ... more