ABSTRACT

All major human rights instruments include the freedom of religion. At the same time, they provide for limited but undefined restrictions on that freedom. Thus, to take but the two most important examples:

United Nations Civil and Political Covenant, Art. 18 (paragraphs 1-3):

European Convention on Human Rights, Art. 9 (paragraphs 1-2):

It will be noted that paragraph 3 of the ICCPR and paragraph 2 of the ECHR speak in much the same terms: the freedoms guaranteed by the instrument may be restricted in limited terms when to do so is legally necessary for the protection of “public safety, order, health, or morals or the rights and freedoms of others.” However, the nature of those restrictions is nowhere set forth; nor do we discover from the treaties what are the “rights and (fundamental) freedoms of others” which can legitimately trump the religious liberties guaranteed by these international instruments.