Religious Liberty and International Law in Europe

Malcolm Evans's account of the protection of religious liberty under international law in Europe.

The freedom of religion is one of the oldest and most controversial of the claims that are recognized as forming part of the corpus of human rights. In this important and fascinating book Malcolm Evans provides a detailed account of the ways in which the freedom of religious belief came to be incorporated into the legislation of the countries of Europe. He goes on to examine the mechanisms by which this freedom is guaranteed, and a number of problematic cases which have recently been discussed in the Council of Europe. In a concluding section he outlines a number of developments which will influence the direction that the search for the protection of religious liberty under international law may take.

Acknowledgements; Chronological table of international treaties; Table of cases; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Early antecedents; 2. From Augsburg to Paris; 3. The League of Nations: drafting the Covenant; 4. The Polish Minorities Treaty; 5. The extension of the minorities system; 6. The experience under the League; 7. The UN system; 8. Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 9. The 1981 Declaration on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief; 10. Religious freedom under the European Convention on Human Rights: the drafting of Article 9 and of Article 2 of the First Protocol; 11. The application of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights; 12. Restrictions upon the scope of Article 9(1); 13. The application of Article 2 of the First Protocol; 14. An interim conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Malcolm Evans describes the ways in which the freedom of religious belief has been incorporated into the legislation of Europe. He goes on to examine the mechanisms by which this freedom is guaranteed, and a number of problematic cases which have recently been discussed in the Council of Europe.