Parental Rights in Relation to Denominational Schooling under the European Convention on Human Rights

Abstract

Whereas the bulk of Article 2 Protocol I cases concerns aspects of the public-school framework and curriculum, this article explores Convention rights in the realm of denominational schooling. It is outlined that the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court generally strongly supports the rights of parents not to send their child to state-organized schools and hence to establish or avail of private, denominational schooling instead. In this area of private schooling, the Strasbourg Court could build a stronger body of jurisprudence against discriminatory funding policies. The Court is right in seeing no state duty to fund denominational schools, but where intricate funding policies serve to privilege the state or dominant religion and their schools, at the disadvantage of minority religion schools, the Court should come into action.