Contenuti per la categoria: Diritto ecclesiastico comparato e straniero

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione - 2. Il frammentato quadro normativo in materia di LGBT rights - 3. Il caso Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia - 4. L’impatto della pronunzia Bostock sulle istituzioni religiose - 5. La tutela offerta dal Title VII all’esercizio della libertà religiosa - 6. La Section 702(a) del Title VII e le questioni interpretative irrisolte - 7. Nuove letture giurisprudenziali della Section 702(a) - 8. L’interazione fra esenzioni religiose ex Section 702(a) e sex discrimination: possibili futuri scenari alla luce del caso Bostock - 9. La specificità delle istituzioni impegnate nel settore dell’istruzione - 10. La ministerial exception e i limiti della sua applicabilità - 11. Il RFRA - 12. I rischi derivanti da un utilizzo over-expansive del RFRA - 13. La Free Exercise Clause - 14. Le vie percorribili per recepire nuove prospettive valoriali - 15. Il mancato intervento del Congresso - 16. Principio di non discriminazione ed esercizio della libertà religiosa: un binomio incompatibile? - 17. L’esempio della legislazione sui same-sex marriages - 18. La tutela dell’istituzionalismo religioso e i suoi “ragionevoli” limiti - 19. Conclusioni.

The interplay between religious exemptions and LGBT rights in the workplace: new judicial trajectories at the crossroads of plural narratives

ABSTRACT: A recent U.S. Supreme Court judgement found that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act covers discriminations founded on gender identity and sexual orientation. The present paper analyses the effect of this judgement on the exercise of religious freedom of faith-based organizations and investigates the possibility of finding ways to reconcile competing interests.

SOMMARIO: 1. Stati a identità debole e rapporti con le confessioni religiose - 2. Il cratere balcanico - 3. La Bosnia Erzegovina terreno di confronto identitario e di rifiuto dell’autocefalia - 4. Un rapporto sinfonico contestato: il Montenegro - 5. Le denominazioni contese: la Macedonia del Nord - 6. L’Ucraina alla ricerca dell’identità - 7. Autonomia confessionale e autocefalia: per una nuova nozione di territorio canonico.

… Is seeking for autocephaly, which is so precious!/ They go in search of autocephaly- so precious! / Of autocephalous they journey: how dear it is!

ABSTRACT: The "Weak States" of the Balkans born from the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the USSR seek legitimacy and struggle to strengthen their national identity. This is currently happening through the recognition of autocephaly to their Orthodox Churches in order to build on the symphonic and stable relationship between State and Churches. The article analyzes the status of relations between the state entities of Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Ukraine. In this perspective, the conflict between different religious designations claiming to be represented as identity representations before the State is highlighted. Additionally, the conflicts within the Orthodox pae granting the tomos to recognize autocephaly are explored.

SOMMARIO: 1. Israele, uno Stato ‘ebraico’ e multiculturale? - 2. Il sistema degli statuti personali e la tutela delle relazioni familiari - 3. Matrimoni, divorzi e Corti religiose - 4. Pluralismo, multiconfessionismo e dinamiche demografiche. Prime conclusioni e prospettive di ricerca.

Forms and practices of the religious pluralism in the State of Israel. The Ottoman inheritance and the protection of family relationships.

ABSTRACT: The essay aims to explore, also in a historical perspective, the general characteristics, peculiarities and limits of the differentiated protection of family relationships in force in the legal system of (State of Israel), still based on the millet system. It allows the application of the personal statutes of the various ethnic-religious communities (Jewish, Muslim, Druze, Christian) present on the territory, not only to regulate the legal institutions typical of family law - especially marriage and divorce -, but also for the resolution of disputes on the matter that are devolved to the jurisdiction of the religious Courts of several religions. In examining the effectiveness and functionality of this model of religious and cultural pluralism, the study highlights the delicate problems of relevance and coexistence of the different religious normative complexes in the Israeli state system.

SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa - 2. Il caso Casamitjana Costa v. The League Against Cruel Sports - 3. Il veganismo nella giurisprudenza italiana - 4. Pari dignità delle coscienze … - 5. (segue) e specificità del fenomeno confessionale - 6. Definire le convinzioni personali tra libertà del singolo e necessità di accertamento - 7. Spunti conclusivi.

Beyond religious pluralism. Veganism as an expression of freedom of conscience

ABSTRACT: A recent judgement of the Employment Tribunals and a following one of the Tribunal of Bologna recognized veganism as a belief worth of protection. The two judges went beyond the bounds of the religious sphere, exploring the horizon of cultural pluralism, which the Italian Republic, as a secular state, should guarantee. The sentences therefore represent a starting point for addressing the complex issue of the relationship between law and conscience, which recently acquired major importance. As a matter of fact, according to an authoritative doctrine, there is a tendency in all Western legal systems to leave moral or ethical matters to individual self-determination, in accordance with the personalist and pluralist principle. This contribution will then start from the examination of the sentences and then it will deal with some of the main problems concerning freedom of conscience and its protection.

SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa: le tappe di un leading case controverso - 2. La presenza dei musulmani in Tracia: un itinerario storico tra fonti interne e internazionali - 3. Il quadro normativo vigente al momento della causa - 4. La Corte e il suo legal reasoning tra equità e uguaglianza - 5. Conclusione: il soft law come substrato valoriale di una decisione annunciata.

The Muslims of Thrace and the case Molla Sali c. Greece. A historical and legal itinerary between religious pluralism and demands for equality

ABSTRACT – The article is inspired by the Molla Sali v. Greece case, resolved by the ECHR. Starting from this case, the article analyzes the complex historical development of the legislation relating to the Muslim minority in the Greek region of Thrace. In particular, the article deals with the prerogatives of the mufti in the judicial field and the application of Islamic law to relations among private individuals. In addition to the treaties concluded between the decaying Ottoman Empire and the main European powers, the article explores the corresponding implementing rules in the Greek legal system. Finally, the article proposes some critical considerations about balancing the principle of equality and the rights of minorities.

SOMMARIO: 1. Cibo e religione (e mercato) - 2. L’evoluzione storica del rapporto tra cibo e religione - 3. Elementi utili per una definizione giuridica di macellazione rituale - 4. La questione dello stordimento - 5. La sentenza della Grande Chambre della Corte di giustizia del 29 maggio 2018 (causa C-426/16): la posizione dell’Avvocato Generale Nils Wahl - 6. La sentenza della Grande Chambre della Corte di giustizia del 26 febbraio 2019 (causa C-497/17) - 7. Alcune considerazioni (non) conclusive.

Multicultural societies and protection of food identity: some reflections on ritual slaughter.

ABSTRACT: The intensification of migratory flows and the demographic increase of the population of the Islamic religion in Europe now make it unavoidable to consolidate that process of cultural integration between different ethnic, linguistic and religious components, which had already begun a few decades ago in Western countries and aimed at defining of a new model of open and pluralist society. This process calls into question, in various areas - including that of food protection - the values ​​of dignity, freedom and equality on which European democracies are founded, imposing the search for new balances between potentially conflicting interests. This contribution aims to investigate the compatibility profiles between respect for the food identity of religious minorities, the protection of human health and food safety and the prohibition of causing unnecessary suffering to animals, to highlight whether the principle of neutrality accepted by the current EU legislation is indeed the most suitable for promoting the fundamental values ​​of European society.

SUMMARY: 1. Introduction - 2. Alevi Population in Turkey and in Europe - 3. What is Alevism? Who are the Alevis? - 4. Discrimination against Alevis and Alevi Massacres from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic - 5. Alevi Migration in Turkey and to Europe - 6. Alevi Organizations in Europe: Cultural, Social, and Historical Perspectives - 7. Discourses of “Other” vs “Equal” on Alevis - 8. Alevi Associations in Europe: Legal Perspectives - 9. Alevism in the Turkish Legal Setting - 10. Alevism at the European Court of Human Rights - 11. Concluding Remarks on Legal Issues - 12. Concluding Remarks on Social and Cultural Issues.

ABSTRACT: Using interdisciplinary lenses, this article examines the cultural, social, and juridical status of the Alevis in Turkey and Western Europe. The ongoing social exclusion and discrimination against Alevis in Turkey make their everyday lives challenging. In Europe, Alevis organized themselves in associations, forming vibrant transnational communities. They struggled for recognition of their cultural-religious rights, and in some European countries, they are given special status. As we will illustrate, their recognition in Europe significantly effected in their case in Turkey but failed to emancipate them fully and posed further issues to tackle with and for the Alevis in Turkey. Gedik and Birkalan-Gedik present sociological, historical, and political contexts to understand the current realities of Alevis in Turkey and Europe, mostly based on their ethnographic studies. Madera examines five cases between 2007-2016 which were presented by the Alevis to the European Court. We conclude that currently, Turkey does not try to suffice the European requirements, namely, the implementation of policies aimed at guaranteeing adequate protection of the collective dimension of religious freedom in a way consistent with European directives.

SUMMARY: 1. Key terms and definitions - 2. Two ways to look at culturally motivated crimes: the case of the kirpan in the Italian and in the Canadian jurisprudence - 3. Moving forward: the Italian Court of Cassation n. 29613/2018 - 3.1. Cultural tests: a comparative insight - 3.2. The cultural test in the Italian judgment of 2018 - 4. Final remarks.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this article is to analyze culturally motivated crimes with a comparative focus and a case law approach. First of all, a set of definitions is given to have a common and shared understanding of the topic at stake. What is culture and what do we mean by culturally motivated crimes? Secondly, a comparative case-law study helps to focus the possible different solutions given to the cultural factor in criminal law. In fact, some legal systems -such as the Canadian one - appear to be more willing than others to make concrete accommodations of cultural differences. Lastly, the latest Italian Court of Cassation suggests a possible direction to be taken to better treat culturally motivated crimes in today’s multicultural society. What does it mean for criminal law to be culturally sensitive? How can courts take into consideration cultural factors through a proper legal method? These are the main questions on which criminal doctrine has focused its attention trying to reshape a criminal model which can be responsive to those different cultural values, needs and interests.

SOMMARIO: 1. Gli interventi contro i Testimoni di Geova nella Federazione Russa - 2. La presenza storica dei Testimoni di Geova nel Paese - 3. La libertà religiosa nella normativa dell’Unione Sovietica - 4. Le leggi sulla libertà di coscienza degli anni ’90 - 5. La legislazione “anti estremismo” e antiterrorismo - 6. Considerazioni conclusive.

“Anti-extremism” Legislation and Religious Freedom in the Russian Federation. The case of Jehovah's Witnesses

ABSTRACT: The application of "anti-extremism" legislation to minority religious groups in the Russian Federation has led to a progressive institutional tightening of the persecution and heavy discrimination, especially against Jehovah's Witnesses. Although many of these legislative instruments have existed for over a decade, the Russian government has only recently begun to use them in sustained campaigns designed to punish or exclude "non-traditional" religions and movements. In the specific case of Jehovah's Witnesses, these measures have taken on the purpose of delegitimising an entire community, solely because of the religious faith being persecuted, with accusations ranging from missionary activity to offending the religious feelings of believers. Overall, these interventions are part of a wider process of ideological control over society, aimed at curbing, if not stifling, the forces of political and religious dissent. It is well known that secularism is based on two fundamental principles: the inviolability of human rights, which constitute the prodrome of political power and therefore of the State, and, secondly, the importance of a culture and institutions that guarantee the effectiveness of pluralism. The analysis of the Russian history is, in this sense, an important perspective because it calls into question the European model of recognition and guarantee of religious pluralism.

Summary: 1. Introduction - 2. Italian legal responses to COVID-19: the Italian constitutional and legal framework on religious freedom - 3. The suspension of religious assemblies during phase one of the pandemic - 4. A “cautious resumption” of religious gatherings during the phase two in Italy - 5. U.S. legal responses to COVID-19: U.S. constitutional and legal framework about religious freedom - 6. The legal patchwork because of the pandemic - 7. Judicial balance between individual liberties and the preservation of health - 8. Litigation in lower courts about the exercise of religious freedom during Covid-19 - 9 New creative ways of worshipping in Covid-19 times: drive-in religious services - 10. Third-party burdens and the successful nondiscrimination approach - 11. Department of Justice statements - 12 Supreme Court intervention in temporary state restrictions on religious assemblies - 13. “Religious America” and “secular” Italy during Covid-19 phase one - 14. Management of religious freedom during the pandemic and the lack or presence of a statute governing religious freedom - 15. Effect of the pandemic on the question of whose religious freedom should be protected - 16. Guaranteeing a fair level of religious accommodation during a pandemic - 17. Enhanced need to balance the exercise of religious freedom with third-party harm during a pandemic - 18. Impact of the pandemic on the exercise of religious freedom in the long term.

ABSTRACT: The so-called lockdown, imposed to restrain (or at least limit) the spread of COVID-19, has, in the over four seemingly endless months since it started, had an overwhelming impact not only on our personal lives, but also on domestic regulatory frameworks. Legal systems responded individually, and with differences to the pandemic emergency, ranging from a complete interruption of the collective exercise of religious worship (Italy), to a more cautious recognition of forms of religious accommodation (United States). The present paper compares the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the exercise of religious freedom in the United States and the Italian legal contexts, and investigates how the pandemic crisis emphasized underlying judicial, political, sociocultural, and economic challenges, giving rise to a tension between competing rights and exacerbating concerns about the “special” role of religion. As the COVID situation is changing so rapidly in the United States, in Italy, and around the world, I clarify that the information in the present paper relates at the situation as at the end of June 2020.