ABSTRACT
On September 23, 2010, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) handed down judgments in two distinct cases based on similar facts but which came to opposite conclusions. The judgment of the ECtHR in Obst, Schüth and Siebenhaar added a particular dimension to the principles which Germany is required to demand of its labor courts: the effects of dismissal of an employee, for whatever reason, on the personal and family life, or on religious freedom, of the employee. The judgment of the ECtHR in Obst, Schüth and Siebenhaar added a particular dimension to the principles which Germany is required to demand of its labor courts: the effects of dismissal of an employee, for whatever reason, on the personal and family life, or on religious freedom, of the employee. The current South African Constitution can in general be described, as far as religion and religious diversity are concerned, as one of profound toleration and accommodation.
