REPORTS
Papageorgiou and Others v. Greece – ECtHR condemns Greece for violating the right to education
Article 2 of the First Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) reads, “No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.”
On 31-10-2019 the decision (see 1, 2, 3) in the case of Papageorgiou and Others v Greece (application nos. 4762/18 and 6140/18) was issued.
The case consisted of two appeals, heard together due to their similarity.
The applicants complained about the process instituted by the Greek state to exempt pupils from religious education, as well as about the State’s failure to ensure that the information contained in the religious education curriculum for the 2017-2018 school year was imparted in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner and was in accordance with the religious and philosophical beliefs of the parents. They alleged a violation of Articles 8 and 9 of the ECHR and Article 2 of the First Additional Protocol in conjunction with Article 14 of the ECHR.
The ECtHR considered that the main issue raised in the case was the obligation for parents to submit a declaration stating that their children were not Orthodox Christians in order to qualify for exemption from religious education. The freedom to manifest one’s beliefs also includes the right not to disclose one’s religion or religious beliefs, and therefore the Court found that there had been a violation of the second paragraph of Article 2 of the First Additional Protocol, since the process parents must follow to exempt their children from religious education may impose an unacceptable burden on parents to expose sensitive aspects of their private lives
Parents can demand that the State respect their religious and philosophical beliefs. The second paragraph of Article 2 of the First Additional Protocol to the ECHR aims to ensure pluralism in education, which is essential for the maintenance of a “democratic society” within the meaning of the Convention.
The freedom of expression of beliefs also includes the right of individuals not to disclose their religion or religious beliefs. In this case, the ECtHR found that the obligation to submit a declaration stating that the children are not Christian Orthodox in order to exempt them from religious education classes constituted a violation of the second paragraph of Article 2 of the First Additional Protocol.
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