The Freedom of Religion or Belief in the echr since Kokkinakis. Or “Quoting Kokkinakis”

Abstract

The Kokkinakis case is probably the most widely cited judgement of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the freedom of religion or belief. Yet the constant repetition of its key passages tends to obscure the very real, and controversial, developments which have taken place in the Court’s jurisprudence. This article outlines this practice and explores its implications. It concludes that “quoting Kokkinakis” runs the risk of have a negative impact upon our understanding of Article 9 of the ECHR today and its famous ‘mantra’ should be replaced by a more up to date and accurate statement of the conceptual underpinnings of that article.