The issue of religious symbols in European public has become very often discussed by lawyers, politicians and sociologists as well as by the lay public. This diploma thesis is trying to contribute to these discussions by comparison of case-law of European courts in the cases concerning religious symbols. The thesis therefore analyses the legal sources providing protection of religious freedom and the individual decisions of European courts regarding the presence of religious symbols in public. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is providing the detailed analyse of the protection freedom of religion in European Convention on Human Rights and in the primary law of European Union. Then, it explains the principles of secularism and state neutrality and describes the models of relations between state and religion in Europe. The chapter two contains the introduction to the issue of religious symbols in public. The notion of "religious symbol" and "public" in the context of law is explained there. Further, it focuses on the limitations of religious symbols in public and the prohibition of concealment enacted in some of European countries. In chapter three, the cases of religious symbols in public schools are presented. The majority of European states has an interest in preserving...

La problématique militaire a toujours été à l’ombre des débats publics, à l’écart du reste de la société. En effet, le rendez-vous des droits de l’homme et des casernes n’aurait peut-être jamais eu lieu, du moins sur le plan européen, sans l’impulsion vigilante de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme.Les droits de l’homme se sont largement introduits au sein des casernes, comme le démontre l’adage européen : « La convention européenne ne s’arrête pas aux portes des casernes » emportant avec lui diverses conséquences. La pénétration des droits fondamentaux au sein des casernes conduit à reconnaître aux militaires la jouissance d’un véritable statut juridique en sanctionnant la méconnaissance des droits et libertés qui y sont contenus.Cependant, si aujourd’hui, la jouissance des droits et libertés fondamentaux est reconnue aux militaires, il est important de rappeler, que ces derniers demeurent des individus assujettis à des contraintes commandées par leur statut particulier. Ces sujétions que doit prendre en compte le juge européen lors de son interprétation viennent dès lors, limiter et restreindre la portée des droits garantis aux militaires. Il est donc nécessaire que le juge européen, prenne en considération l’ensemble de ces paramètres lors de son processus interprétatif.Dans cette perspective, le juge européen tentera habilement de ménager d’une part, son objectif fondamental à savoir garantir aux militaires la jouissance et la protection de leurs droits fondamentaux Et d’autre part, de concilier cette promotion des droits et libertés avec l’ensemble des sujétions auxquelles sont soumis les militaires. / The military subject has always benn in the shadow of public debate. The meeting of human rights and the military barracks could never have happened without impetus of the European Court. The human rights have largely introduced in the military barracks. About that, the quote from the European Court indicates : « The European Convention on Human Rights does not stop at the gates of the barracks ».which has several consequences. The introduction of human rights they allow recognize a real legal status to the military.However, if the rights are recognized to the military, it is necessary to remember the military are subject to constraints in view of special status. The European judge must take into consideration these parameters in his interpretative process. In this perspective, the European jugde will attempt conciliate his primary objective that of rights protection, with that of the constraints which are subject the military.

La thèse est structurée en deux parties. La première constitue un résumé de la jurisprudence strasbourgeoise en matière de l’environnement. La deuxième partie porte sur le fondement théorique de la protection de l’environnement par la Convention Européenne des Droits de l’Homme à savoir la doctrine des obligations positives ainsi que sur les droits et devoirs qui, selon la jurisprudence, en découlent pour les différents acteurs. Le concept des obligations positives ne pouvant pas être appliqué sans restriction dans le domaine de l’environnement, les limites fixées par la CEDH afin de réduire les difficultés que peuvent connaître les Etats sont abordées. La question se pose aussi de savoir quelle norme conventionnelle est la mieux adaptée pour contribuer à la protection de l’environnement en application du concept des obligations positives. Ainsi, notamment l’importance de l’art. 8 CEDH et son rôle passe-partout dans le cadre des questions liées à l’environnement sont discutés. / In this thesis, the envrionmental protection through the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rightsis analysed : European court of Human Rights, environmental protection, environment

The significance of the margin of appreciation doctrine has been underscored recently with the adoption of Protocol No 15 which calls for the inclusion of the terms 'margin of appreciation' and 'subsidiarity' in the Preamble of the European Convention on Human Rights. This development reflects the disquiet amongst member States to the Convention that the doctrine is not being given enough weight by the European Court of Human Rights in the determination of cases before it. One of the interpretive tools that is perceived to be having a negative effect on the margin of appreciation is the living instrument doctrine which has been blamed for narrowing the margin of appreciation afforded to States. This thesis brings an original contribution to the literature in this area by considering the interaction between the margin of appreciation and living instrument doctrines in the case law of the Court. The contribution is achieved in two ways: (a) methodologically: through the methodology adopted which is a combination of the quantitative method of descriptive statistics and the qualitative method of doctrinal textual analysis; (b) substantively: through the systematic examination of the case law of the Court from January 1979 to December 2016 in which both the margin of appreciation and living instrument doctrines are present. The lens of the relationship between rights and duties is applied to the case analysis. The case analysis is used to draw conclusions on the nature of the relationship and whether living instrument arguments are superseding the margin of appreciation doctrine where there is conflict. The results of the case analysis also shows distinctions in the interpretive approaches of the Court at the admissibility and compliance stages. The overall results of the study show that there are a variety of ways in which interaction takes place between both doctrines and the nature of both doctrines will continue to require a close interaction between the Court and the State parties in their compliance with obligations under the Convention.

Thesis (LL.M.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Abstract This paper examines the right to family life and how it can conflict with the child’s right to protection against harm. The paper examines how the international community views the family and what rights the family has in international law.  In addition to this, the paper also looks at the different family structure a family can have and it also examine whether there are a universal definition of family. Furthermore, the paper also talks about the children and the rights afforded to them and how the rights has developed through time. The concept of childhood is a much-debated issue. There have been debates on when the childhood begins but also on when it ends and the views of the States differs somewhat. Childhood is a concept that is heavy with different psychological, physical, religious and cultural believes and practices. When the States was working on the Convention on the Rights of the Child they had to try to consolidate the different views on both the beginning and the end of childhood but it proved to be problematic. To say that the childhood began at conception would have made the convention incompatible with the national law that allows abortion and it could therefore risk that some States did not sign the convention. They therefore made a compromise that meant that the States could keep their own definition on the beginning of childhood. The family as well as the well-being of the child is important and this is reflects in international law. This paper therefore also examines the articles in international and regional treaties concerning the family and the protection of the child.  It also examines several cases from the European Court of Human Rights to illustrate how the Court has reasoned in cases where rights of the parents has been in conflict with the children’s rights and best interest. The conclusion drawn from this paper is that no set of rights weigh more than the other. They are both very important and if it is possible, the authorities shall try to balance them with each other. They have to have both what would be best for the child and the parents right to family life in mind. Even if the authorities have to remove a child from the parents care they need to have a reunification of the family as a ultimate goal to work towards.

Freedom of religion or belief is indisputable in Human rights discourse, more discussed is exactly what it is that is included in the concept of freedom of religion or belief (in Swedish: religionsfrihet). This thesis focuses on the freedom of religion or belief in a European context, in particular on the European court of human rights and article 9 in the European convention for human rights. Some criticism has been directed against the Court to the effect that its practice and verdicts don't answer to the pronounced desire to develop a pluralistic and inclusive form of freedom of religion or belief. My aim is to examine, analyse and test three different theories, which all try to develop alternatives to the expression freedom of religion or belief, in relation to six verdicts from article 9 in Europe convention. My basic purpose is to try to find new ways of talking about freedom of religion or belief that might lead to a more inclusive, pluralistic and equal interpretation of that concept. The three theories wich I use are elaborated by Richard Amesbury (associate professor at Claremont school of Theology); Hugo Strandberg (TD at Åbo Akademi) and Eberhard Herrmann (professor in philosophy of religion at Uppsala University); and Martha Nussbaum (professor of law and ethics at the University of Chicago). The six cases from the European court are: X v. Federal Republic of Germany, X v. United Kingdom, Chappell v. United Kingdom, Dahlab v. Switzerland, Leyla Sahin v. Turkey, Dogru v. France. The results of this thesis suggest that the use of alternative expression to the Swedish term religionsfrihet might to a great extent lead to a more inclusive, pluralistic and equal form of freedom of religion or belief – for example in such areas as: individuality, minorities and frames of reference in society as such.

This thesis aims to analyze the property issue in the Cyprus conflict from 1974 up to 2012 based on historical and legal factors. First of all, the historical background of the Cyprus conflict will be evaluated with its different dimensions. After the EU and UN&rsquo / s involvement, the conflict internationalized and regarding the geostrategic importance of the island with the security concerns in the Middle East region the core of today&rsquo / s conflict became the property issue. In this respect, especially both the Turkish and Greek Cypriots proposals about property issue will be detailed one by one. Following that, based on these proposals the Turkish and Greek Cypriots cases to the ECHR about property issue will be analyzed. In the light of these the overall solutions to the Cyprus conflict will be evaluated.

Šiame darbe autorė aptaria pridėtinės vertės mokesčio ištakas, šio netiesioginio mokesčio harmonizavimo priežastis ir svarbą, nagrinėja ir apibendrina Europos Teisingumo Teismo praktiką atskirais pridėtinės vertės mokesčio aspektais – apmokestinamųjų sandorių sąvokos, apmokestinamųjų asmenų, apmokestinamojo momento, apmokestinamosios vertės, atskaitos. Taip pat siekiama atskleisti, ar į Europos Teisingumo Teismo bylas pridėtinės vertės mokesčio klausimais yra atsižvelgiama, nagrinėjant mokestinius ginčus Lietuvoje. Tyrimas remiasi Europos Teisingumo Teismo ir Lietuvos vyriausiojo administracinio teismo praktikos pridėtinės vertės mokesčio srityje analize, teisės aktais, reglamentuojančiais šio mokesčio taikymą, Lietuvos ir užsienio autorių literatūra, periodine literatūra, kurioje nagrinėjami su šio darbo tema susiję klausimai. Darbe aptariami pridėtinės vertės mokesčio derinimo tarp Europos Sąjungos valstybių narių tikslai ir reikšmė, Europos Teisingumo Teismo išaiškinimai pridėtinės vertės mokesčio aspektais. Taip pat aptariamas Europos Teisingumo Teismo vaidmuo, jo sprendimų pridėtinės vertės mokesčio klausimais reikšmė teisės aktų raidai ir mokestinių ginčų nagrinėjimui Lietuvoje. Daug dėmesio skiriama Lietuvos vyriausiojo administracinio teismo praktikai, nagrinėjant su pridėtinės vertės mokesčio taikymu susijusias mokestines bylas. Siekiama atskleisti, kokią įtaką Europos Teisingumo Teismo praktika pridėtinės vertės mokesčio srityje turi Lietuvos vyriausiajam... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In this work, the author discusses the origins of value added tax, the harmonization of this indirect tax reasons and importance, analyze and summarize the European Court of Justice practice on these value added tax aspects - the concept of taxable transactions, the taxable persons, the taxable moment, the taxable value, the deduction. It also aims to disclose or to the European Court of Justice cases of value added tax issues are taken into account in the consideration of tax disputes in Lithuania. The study is based on the European Court of Justice and the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court practice, the value added tax analysis, the law on this tax, the Lithuanian and foreign authors, periodical literature, which dealt with the labor issues. The paper discusses the value added tax harmonization between the European Union member states, the objectives and importance of the European Court of Justice's interpretation of value added tax aspects. It also discusses the European Court of Justice's role, its decisions on the value added tax influence in legislation development and tax litigation in Lithuania. Much attention is paid to the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court practice, considering the value added tax on related tax matters. The aim is to reveal the impact of the European Court of Justice law of value added tax in Lithuania to the High Administrative Court, the State Tax Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of... [to full text]

The dissertation explores the principle of proportionality as an instrument deriving from the notion of "democratic society" and applied by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in order to establish whether national institutions succeeded in striking a fair balance between the conflicting Convention rights or between competing individual and public interests. In the first chapter, after presenting the origins of the principle, the development of a three-tiered proportionality test and its dissemination, the main parameters relevant for the analysis of this principle are identified and the main issues of academic discussion concerning the application of proportionality by the ECtHR are revealed. The second chapter explores the evolution of the application of the proportionality principle in the case law of ECtHR and reveals the main features of proportionality test as applied in the early practice of Convention institutions. The third chapter deals with the interaction of the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity, in particular examining the impact of margin of appreciation doctrine upon the proportionality assessment conducted by the ECtHR and analysing the contents and interplay of the factors determining the width of the margin of appreciation. The forth chapter explores both commonalities and peculiarities of the application of proportionality principle in the context of different Convention rights and exposes the main criteria relevant to the balancing... [to full text] / Disertacijoje nagrinėjama proporcingumo principo, kaip iš demokratinės visuomenės idėjos kylančio instrumento, Europos Žmogaus Teisių Teismo (EŽTT) pasitelkiamo siekiant nustatyti, ar nacionalinės institucijos išlaikė teisingą pusiausvyrą tarp konkuruojančių Žmogaus teisių ir pagrindinių laisvių apsaugos konvencijos (Konvencijos) ginamų teisių ar tarp Konvencijos teisių ir viešų interesų, sampratos ir taikymo praktikos problematika. Pirmoje disertacijos dalyje, aptarus proporcingumo principo kilmę, trinario proporcingumo tyrimo modelio susiformavimą ir sklaidą, apsibrėžiami svarbiausi proporcingumo tyrimui reikšmingi parametrai ir atskleidžiama EŽTT taikomo proporcingumo principo sampratos problematika mokslinėje literatūroje. Antroje dalyje nagrinėjama proporcingumo principo taikymo EŽTT praktikoje raida ir plėtra, identifikuojami pagrindiniai ankstyvojoje Komisijos ir Teismo praktikoje taikyto proporcingumo testo bruožai. Trečioje dalyje tiriama proporcingumo principo sąveika su subsidiarumo principu, atskleidžiamas vertinimo laisvės doktrinos poveikis EŽTT atliekamam proporcingumo vertinimui, tiriami vertinimo laisvės apimtį lemiantys kriterijai ir jų sąveika. Ketvirtoje dalyje analizuojama proporcingumo principo taikymo praktika skirtingų Konvencijos ginamų teisių kontekste, atskleidžiant tiek bendruosius principo taikymo bruožus, tiek ir Teismo taikomos priežiūros intensyvumo nulemtus proporcingumo testo ypatumus. Paskutinėje dalyje EŽTT taikomas balansavimu grindžiamas... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]