The Legal Recognition of Religious Communities in the Light of the Principle of Religious Pluralism
by Sergiu Constantin
Question(s) at stake
Whether the refusal of the Moldovan authorities to recognize the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia infringes on the applicants’ right to freedom of religion.
Outcome of the ruling
The Moldovan authorities’ refusal to recognize the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia is not proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued or necessary in a democratic society. Therefore, it constitutes a violation of the applicants’ freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as enshrined in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Furthermore, as the applicants were unable to obtain redress from a national authority in respect of their complaint, there has been a violation of their right to an effective remedy (Article 13 of the ECHR).
Country:
Official citation
Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and Others v Moldova, App no 45701/99, 13 December 2001
Topic(s)
Keywords:
Freedom of association Freedom of thought, conscience and religion Legal status Non-discrimination Non-recognition Public safety Religious community State neutrality Legitimate (state) aims
Tag(s):
Ecclesiastical conflict Political conflict Religious pluralism Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia Orthodox Churches
Bibliographic information
Access case report
View case report in the CUREDI databaseAbout the authors
Sergiu Constantin (Eurac Research Institute for Minorities Rights, Bolzano, Italy)
Sergiu Constantin is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Minority Rights of Eurac Research (Bolzano/Bozen, Italy). He holds a law degree from the University of Bucharest (Romania) and a Master in European Studies from the University of Graz (Austria). His research projects deal with diversity governance focusing mainly on language rights, political participation and territorial/cultural autonomy arrangements in Europe and beyond. He has published several papers, articles and book chapters on these topics. His most recent publications are included in the volumes Litigating the Rights of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in Domestic and International Courts (edited by B. De Villiers, J. Marko, F. Palermo and S. Constantin, Brill, 2021) and Human and Minority Rights Protection by Multiple Diversity Governance. History, Law, Ideology and Politics in European Perspective (edited by J. Marko and S. Constantin, Routledge, 2019). His most recent consultancy activities regard projects undertaken by the Council of Europe and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Besides his research and consultancy work, he is co-managing the annual Eurac Research Summer School on Human Rights, Minorities and Diversity Governance and is coordinating the science communication activities of the Institute for Minority Rights.