Contenuti per la categoria: Unione europea e Consiglio d'Europa

SUMMARY: 1. Introduction - 2. The meaning of State neutrality: some conceptual clarifications - 3. State’s neutrality vis-à-vis religious organizations: neutrality as absence of interference - 4. State’s neutrality vis-à-vis public education: neutrality as objectivity - 5. State neutrality vis-à-vis religious symbols in the public sphere: neutrality as exclusion of religion - 6. ‘Reversed’ patters of neutrality: the disruptive effect of Lautsi v. Italy - 7. Concluding remarks: decoding the patterns of State neutrality in the jurisprudence of the ECtHR.

ABSTRACT: This contribution discusses the notion of State neutrality in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. State neutrality has become increasingly relevant in the rulings of the ECtHR concerning religious freedom, with the Court explicitly resorting to the idea that States should act as neutral and impartial organizers of religious life within their community. Yet, the conception of State neutrality developed by the Court is inconsistent and often gives rise to criticism. By exploring the Court’s main jurisprudence in the context of religious disputes, religious education in public education, and the display of religious symbols in public spaces, this contribution seeks to disentangle the different understandings of neutrality employed by the Court and to critically engage with them.

SOMMARIO: 1. La presenza religiosa nella sfera pubblica - 2. La libertà religiosa collettiva nella CEDU - 3. La condizione giuridica delle confessioni religiose nel diritto della UE - 4. Identità confessionali e identità nazionali europee - 5. Il ruolo “pubblico” delle istituzioni religiose negli Stati europei - 6. In particolare: a) la rilevanza costituzionale dei soggetti confessionali in Germania - 7. Segue: b) la condizione giuridica delle confessioni religiose in Italia.

Public relevance of religious communities in the European legal dimension

The religious phenomenon appears relevant both on an individual level and on a social level. In many cases religious experience, on the one hand, helps to draw the personal identity of the subject; on the other, it is an element that characterizes various aspects of civil society, up to the influence of the political and institutional dynamics of many contemporary state systems. This paper intends to demonstrate that the religious phenomenon does not appear confined only in the strictly private sphere, but lives and manifests itself also in the public dimension. This approach seems to be confirmed, among other things, by the new public role that religious communities are progressively taking on in the European legal sphere, as well as within individual state systems in Europe. From the analysis of the rules in force both at the European and national level, this work therefore derives a significant legal recognition of the public relevance of religions and religious communities that are direct institutional expression, paying particular attention to the experience gained in the German law and in the Italian legal system.

SOMMARIO: 1. Esigenze di uniformazione delle fonti europee di diritto derivato e protezione del principio di favor religionis nella Carta costituzionale italiana. Alla ricerca di un punto di equilibrio - 2. Possibilità e limiti di esenzione dalla normativa europea circa il trattamento dei dati personali intraconfessionali - 3. Ammissibilità di soluzioni normative confessionali ‘complete’ e ‘conformi’ al regolamento europeo ... - 4. … e di un intervento dello Stato volto al ripristino della legalità costituzionale - 5. Gli strumenti di tutela: il ruolo dell’autorità di controllo nazionale e di un’ipotetica authority confessionale nella prospettiva di un coordinamento interordinamentale necessitato.

Protection of sensitive religious data and confessional autonomy. Reflections for an interpretation secundum Constitutionem of the European regulation n. 2016/679

ABSTRACT: The contribution proposes an interpretation in conformity with the Italian Constitution of the European regulation n. 2016/679 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data, which will be applied in the Member States from 25 May 2018. An interpretation that protects the constitutional principle of confessional autonomy and the fundamental rights and freedoms of the person, reconciling them when necessary.

1 - La questione, cruciale nelle società multiculturali, dell’uso della simbologia religiosa è tornata sotto la supervisione della Corte europea dei diritti umani, che già se n’era occupata più volte per i segni portati attraverso o per complemento dell’abbigliamento personale e una volta anche per quelli esposti nei luoghi pubblici. Stavolta si trattava di citazioni, o meglio allusioni, evangeliche utilizzate a scopo di marketing da un'azienda lituana che produce vestiti: tre manifesti, diffusi anche sul web, con la foto di un uomo e una donna con l'aureola, lui tatuato in jeans, lei con un vestito bianco e una collana di perline, che sembra una corona di rosario. L'allusione a Gesù e Maria si trae dalle frasi esclamative: "Gesù, che pantaloni!", "Gesù, Maria! Cosa indossate!", "Cara Maria, che vestito!" (segue).

Sometimes freedom of expression overrides public morals: the case of advertising

ABSTRACT: This article examines the case Sekmadienis v. Lithuania, where the European Court of human rights found that the advertisements by a clothing company, despite using models and captions referring to “Jesus” and “Mary”, did not offend public morals. Nevertheless the balancing in favour, for once, of freedom of expression is due not to a revirement but, essentially, to two factors: the advertisements neither were gratuitously offensive nor incited hatred and, on the other hand, domestic authorities did not provide sufficient justifications for why such use of religious symbols would had been contrary to public morals. Therefore, it’s an assertion not of secularism in front of religion but – the author says quoting Pier Paolo Pasolini - a new laicity, that does not compete with religion: the advertising laicity, born in middle-class entropy.

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SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione - 2. Europa dei cittadini e identità politica del processo di integrazione continentale - 3. Spazio politico europeo, libertà religiosa e laicità - 4. Conclusioni.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of the European Union law and of the right to religious freedom lies in the global process of internationalization of fundamental rights, the transformation of relations between States, the modification of the idea of ​​sovereignty, the emergence of new conventional instruments. With reference to the European social and legal space, the transformation of the European Economic Community into a real political union has allowed the inalienable human rights of the people to become central in the process of integration. Because of that, the political and legal system of the European Union, characterized by the transition of the State monopoly of sovereignty to its sharing among different subjects, has affected the reality of relations between public powers and religious phenomenon. A particular configuration of the concept of secularism in the European continent has been established, by virtue, which the values of democracy, pluralism, human dignity and non-identification between public functions and religious experience would allow for peaceful coexistence between religion, institutional activity of the European Union and fundamental freedoms.

SUMMARY: 1. Introduction - 2. General measures of the anti-terrorist laws; social surveillance and immigration control - 3. Antiterrorist laws and Islam: the securitization of Muslims in western countries - 4. The enforcement of measures affecting Muslim population not directly related to security: the vague criminalization of Islam - 5. Effects of the measures direct or indirectly justified on security reasons in religious freedom; specially related to Muslim population - 6. Closing remarks; positive statements in the construction of the European Union framework.

SOMMARIO: 1. Delimitazione del tema d’indagine - 2. Gli epigoni giurisprudenziali del caso Lautsi in una recente sentenza del Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale per la Sardegna - 3. L’art. 28 della legge francese di separazione del 9 dicembre 1905 - 4. Il banco di prova dei monumenti ai caduti edificati dopo la legge del 1905 - 5. Le oscillazioni interpretative della giurisprudenza amministrativa in materia di esposizione dei presepi - 6. I dubbi sulla “riscrittura” dell’art. 28 operata dal Conseil d’État - 7. Le sorti della statua “fuorilegge” di papa Giovanni Paolo II - 8. La “prova di forza” della Slovacchia nella vicenda della moneta commemorativa dei Santi Cirillo e Metodio - 9. Conclusioni: trasfigurazione dei simboli o della laicità?

“To each his own cross”. Disparate remarks concerning the public display of Christian symbols in the European public sphere (with specific regard to Article 28 of the French Separation Law)

ABSTRACT: The present essay takes as a starting point some recent case law on the so-called “institutional” display of religious symbols (and in particular Christian symbols), in Italy and other European countries. The analysis focuses on both the French legal system and some recent rulings of the administrative jurisprudence, which seems to mark a shift from the more consolidated and traditional reading keys of the “secularism”.

SOMMARIO: 1. Attualità del diritto di libertà religiosa - 2. La libertà religiosa e la sfida del pluralismo confessionale - 3. L’affermazione del diritto di libertà religiosa in Europa -  4. Evoluzione espansiva del diritto di libertà religiosa. Tradizione anglosassone e approccio europeo ai diritti - 5. Dimensione negativa o di garanzia e dimensione positiva o promozionale del diritto di libertà religiosa - 6. Dimensione positiva dei diritti e obblighi di solidarietà: la logica del sistema pattizio - 7. Il sistema italiano di tutela del diritto di libertà religiosa - 8. Legislazione ecclesiastica e proposte di riforma - 9. Il progetto di legge generale sulla libertà religiosa - 10.  Evoluzione del quadro normativo e progetti di riforma - 11. Organizzazioni agnostiche e strutture confessionali: un’assimilazione controversa - 12. Il sistema pattizio come garanzia di pluralismo confessionale e di piena integrazione.

Religious freedom and proposals of reform of the Italian law concerning religious denominations

ABSTRACT: This paper, after briefly recalling the importance of religious freedom in Western civilization and its progressive identification as a fundamental right all over the world, examines the legal framework of religious freedom in the Italian law system. In doing so, it underlines the distinction between the negative and positive aspects of the right, calling for a different attitude on behalf of the State according to the different common law and civil law systems. In the end, taking into account the principles of the Constitution and the Italian Constitutional Court’s case law, it critically addresses the current debate on the proposal of a State statute concerning the exercise of the right of religious freedom for individuals and, above all, for denominational groups without an agreement with the State.

SOMMARIO: 1. La preminenza della dignità sulla libertà - 2. La dignità di chi non conta niente: i migranti - 3. Ci può essere libertà senza dignità? - 4. La luterana libertà del cristiano e la sua secolarizzazione - 5. Un’Europa infedele alla sua ispirazione - 6. Analogia dei conflitti politici odierni con quelli religiosi passati - 7. I migranti, banco di prova per l’Europa e per le Chiese - 8. L’attuale condizione dei migranti - 9. La libertà dignitosa come fonte dell’unità politica europea.

SOMMARIO: 1. Cittadinanza e identità religiosa - 2. Cittadinanza e pluralismo religioso - 3. “Cittadinanza integrativa” e libertà religiosa - 4. La Risoluzione 2076 (2015) e la Raccomandazione 2080 (2015).

Religious Freedom and Integrative Citizenship. Some Notes on 'Living Together' in a Plural Society

ABSTRACT: Circumcision concerns the religious identity of Jews and Muslims. In addition to these circumcisions which can be defined as "confessional-religious" there are also those related to local customs. These types deserve renewed attention after Resolution 1952 (2013) and Recommendation 2023 (2013) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, both concerning "the right of children to physical integrity", and subsequent resolutions 2076 (2015) and Recommendation 2080 (2015) devoted to "(R) Religion and Living together in a Democratic Society". Citizenship is, in fact, the much broader horizon to be found behind circumcision. While the first two documents tend to consider non-therapeutic circumcision as a possible assault to the physical integrity of children without, therefore, focusing on the profiles inherent the right to religious freedom and the possible inclusive value of its "recognition" for the purposes of universal citizenship, the latter two, focusing on the freedom of 'living together' according to the practices of each religion, seem to be more aware of the need to move towards the realization of a European, inclusive and plural citizenship. However, the category of 'living together', evanescent and ambiguous for its correlation with the principle of majority (as is evident from the most recent case law of the ECHR), requires a new approach that gives it greater objectivity. Concepts such as those of pluralism and plural citizenship, in which civic belonging and religious affiliation can live together, help to go in that direction, renewing, in the end, the membership of a Europe of peoples and not just of economies.