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European Court of Human Rights on Shariah Law: Difference between revisions
European Court of Human Rights on Shariah Law (view source)
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{{Underconstruction}} | {{Underconstruction}} | ||
With the banning of the Welfare Party (''Refah Partisi'', RP), an [[Islam|Islamist]] political party in [[Turkey]], the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) determined on July 31, 2001, that "the institution of Sharia law and a theocratic regime, were incompatible with the requirements of a democratic society."<ref name="ECtHR2001">[{{Reference archive|1=http://web.archive.org/web/20010811161803/http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2001/July/RefahPartisi2001jude.htm|2=2013-09-14}} ECtHR Judgment in the case of Refah Partisi (The Welfare Party) Erbakan, Kazan and Tekdal v Turkey] (Press Release 31.7.2001; Judgment 31.7.2001)</ref> | |||
The ban was upheld by the ECtHR on February 13, 2003. Noting that the Welfare Party had pledged to set up a regime based on the [[Shariah|Shari'ah]], the Court found that, "a sharia-based regime was incompatible with the Convention, in particular, as regards the rules of criminal law and procedure, the place given to women in the legal order and its interference in all spheres of private and public life in accordance with religious precepts."<ref name="ECtHR2003a">European Court of Human Rights, [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Annual_report_2003_ENG.pdf|2=2013-09-14}} "Annual Report 2003"], (2004) | The ban was upheld by the ECtHR on February 13, 2003. Noting that the Welfare Party had pledged to set up a regime based on the [[Shariah|Shari'ah]], the Court found that, "a sharia-based regime was incompatible with the Convention, in particular, as regards the rules of criminal law and procedure, the place given to women in the legal order and its interference in all spheres of private and public life in accordance with religious precepts."<ref name="ECtHR2003a">European Court of Human Rights, [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Annual_report_2003_ENG.pdf|2=2013-09-14}} "Annual Report 2003"], (2004) pp. 5-6.</ref> It considered that "sharia, which faithfully reflects the dogmas and divine rules laid down by religion, is stable and invariable."<ref name="ECtHR2003">European Court of Human Rights, [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Annual_report_2003_ENG.pdf|2=2013-09-14}} "Annual Report 2003"], (2004) p. 21.</ref> | ||
==Texts== | ==Texts== | ||
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===Annual Report 2003 (May 2004)=== | ===Annual Report 2003 (May 2004)=== | ||
From the Foreword by Luzius Wildhaber, the President of the European Court of Human Rights: | |||
{{Quote||The Court’s Annual Reports always provide an ideal opportunity to look back over the past year and to take stock of the events that marked it. So what is to be gleaned from 2003? | |||
The first thing that stands out every year is the way in which, through the Court’s caselaw, solutions to a wide range of situations and issues are to be found in the handful of substantive Convention provisions.<BR>. . .<BR> | |||
Out of the 703 judgments delivered in 2003, I have selected two which, through both their differences and their complementarity, reflect the dual role played by the Court. These are the judgments in the cases of Refah Partisi (the Welfare Party) and Others v. Turkey and Jakupovic v. Austria, which were delivered on 13 and 6 February 2003 respectively. | |||
The first is a unanimous Grand Chamber decision and is one of a series of judgments over the past few years in which the Court has sought to define the bases of the democratic system on which the Convention is founded.<BR>. . .<BR> | |||
the Court, aided by the pan-European consensus provided by the Convention, has a role to play in identifying the constituent elements of democracy and in reminding everyone of the minimum essential requirements of a political system if human rights within the meaning of the Convention are to be protected. It has in the past applied itself to establishing the basic principles of the rule of law, the role of political parties, and the limits on freedom of political expression and parliamentary immunity. In Refah Partisi, it carried out a thorough examination of the relationship between the Convention, democracy, political parties and religion, and found that a sharia-based regime was incompatible with the Convention, in particular, as regards the rules of criminal law and procedure, the place given to women in the legal order and its interference in all spheres of private and public life in accordance with religious precepts.<ref name="ECtHR2003a"></ref>}} | |||
{{Quote||As I do every year, I will tonight outline some of the main messages which emerge from our case-law over the past year. This year I shall talk about four cases. | {{Quote||As I do every year, I will tonight outline some of the main messages which emerge from our case-law over the past year. This year I shall talk about four cases. | ||