Complex Intrareligious Diversities and Enrolment in Religious Minority Schools
by Adriaan Overbeeke
Question(s) at stake
Whether an Orthodox Jewish school may refuse to enrol children whose Orthodox Jewish parents agree with the school’s pedagogical project and regulations but hold political views regarding Israel that are unacceptable to the majority in the school’s Orthodox community.
Outcome of the ruling
Children cannot be victims of their parents’ political views. The parents have a fundamental right to enrol their children in the school. It cannot be inferred from the political views of the father of the family that the religious observance of the family is incompatible with the religious ethos presented in the pedagogical project of the school.
Country:
Official citation
Court of Appeal Antwerp, Judgment of 18 June 2013, no. 2012/AR/2910 (Hof van Beroep Antwerpen, 18 juni 2013, nr. 2012/AR/2910)
Topic(s)
Keywords:
Admission policies and selection Best interests of the child Faith-based schools Freedom of education Parents Political or any other opinion Pupils Right to education Types and actors Actors Rights and freedoms Children's rights Right of parents to ensure the religious and moral education of their children Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Tag(s):
Jewish faith schools Jewish antizionism Haredi Torah Talmud Right to self-identification
Bibliographic information
Access case report
View case report in the CUREDI databaseAbout the authors
Adriaan Overbeeke (Faculty of Law, VU University Amsterdam - Faculty of Law, Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium)
Adriaan Overbeeke holds a BA degree in Political & Social Sciences from the University of Antwerp (Belgium), and received a MA degree in Political Sciences from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, a MA decree in Law and a PhD degree in Law both from the University of Antwerp (Belgium). In his PhD thesis, ’The state and the human rights position of religious and life stance communities: the protection of corporate aspects of religious freedom in the Belgian Constitution, in the context of international treaties' (thesis supervisor Prof. Dr. Jan Velaers) he researched the evolving legal status of religious (minority) groups in the context of Belgian constitutional law.
Currently he is a Researcher at the Faculty of Law of both the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Antwerp and a member of the Board of the Institute for Jewish Studies (University of Antwerp).
Overbeeke’s current research deals with the collective aspects of the human rights protection of religious diversity throughout Europe, also in a historical perspective. For CUREDI he acts as a reviewer and is a member of the coordination team and the editorial board.