Contenuti per la categoria: Laicità e pluralismo

SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa - 2. Brevi cenni sul contesto normativo internazionale - 3. La valenza della prassi internazionale: in particolare, il ruolo degli organismi internazionali indipendenti - 4. La giurisprudenza della Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo e la rilevanza delle convinzioni religiose dei genitori - 5. Segue: il rispetto del diritto all’educazione dei minori - 6. Il limitato rilievo dei principi generali a tutela dei minori e la necessità di riconoscere loro un locus standi in sede processuale.

Children's right to religious freedom: between international norms and practice

ABSTRACT: Religious freedom is considered a cornerstone of democratic societies, a vital element that contributes to forming the identity of believers and, with reference to minors, the course of their education and upbringing, accompanying them to adulthood. In international law studies, the right of minors to religious freedom, understood as the set of international obligations imposed on States, in both the negative and positive senses inherent in its achievement, has been little explored. The paper aims to identify systematic elements to help reconstruct the “minimum” content of a child’s right to religious freedom, pursuing two main lines of investigation: one relating to the exercise of freedom of worship in the various social contexts in which minors grow up; the other inherent in the educational project that leads them to adulthood. Recognition of the child of a locus standi in the independent court of law compared to that of the family members in charge of his care will help to realize the subjectivity of the child even in such a sensitive subject matter as religious freedom.

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione - 2. Vivere al tempo dei “divieti”, con i temperamenti della Corte costituzionale - 3. Edifici, luoghi, spazi - 4. Un’architettura “scomposta”: dal minareto di cristallo all’area per la moschea destinata a parcheggio.

Secularism and Right to the Building of Worship

ABSTRACT: Article 19 of the Italian constitution guarantees the right to worship as one of the three subjective public rights, together with the right to profess one’s own creed and propagate it, through which religious freedom is manifested. However, people belonging to certain religions face obstacles in having places where they can perform their rituals. Particularly, the request to build mosques on Italian soil encounters many denials, especially of a legislative nature. The essay analyzes, also through the reference to concrete cases, the problems in the field and proposes to reflect on the concept of space where people can develop their personality and fulfill the mandatory duties of political, economic and social solidarity.

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. Introduzione - 2. La genitorialità intenzionale nell’attuale giurisprudenza italiana - 3. Profili critici - 4. La questione di illegittimità costituzionale - 5. Scenari possibili.

The Sins of the Fathers. Comment to Corte di Cassazione, judg. n. 8325 April 29th 2020.

ABSTRACT: This essay examines the Italian judgement (Ordinanza) n. 8325, issued on April 2020, that has raised a question of constitutionality against the jurisprudential address which, appealing to the limit of the public order, excludes the Italian recognition of foreign jurisdictional decisions that ascertain the right to be inserted - as an intentional parent - in the birth certificate of a child born through the so-called “surrogate motherhood”. In particular, after a survey of the current Italian case law (§ 2) and the problems that it raises (§ 3), the essay examines the arguments advanced by the judgement (§ 4), wondering about its possible outcomes (§ 5).

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.

Venerdì 24 luglio 2020 la Turchia, o meglio il suo premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, ha riaperto al culto islamico il simbolo stesso di Istanbul rappresentato dal complesso monumentale di Santa Sofia. Una vicenda triste per la civiltà, che vede un gioiello artistico di valore universale piegato al nazionalismo religioso. Per la verità l’edificio non è nuovo ai cambi d’uso, come non lo sono altri manufatti di pregio che hanno attraversato i secoli, ma in questo caso non si tratta di un nuovo utilizzo ma di un ritorno al tempo della dominazione ottomana.  Tuttavia, questo non è un ritorno alle origini, perché - come sappiamo - Santa Sofia, costruita per l’imperatore Giustiniano in soli cinque anni dal 532 al 537, è considerata il capolavoro della nuova architettura basilicale bizantina quale espressione della “romanità cristiana e universale della cultura giustinianea”.

Cardinal Gasparri, Francesco Saverio Nitti and the basilica of Hagia Sophia

In reference to the current events that see the return to the destination for Islamic worship of the ancient Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, a Vatican document of the years immediately after the First World War is recalled which presents positions opposite to those prevalent today.