Dr Ronan McCrea, Senior Lecturer in Law at UCL Faculty of Laws, was invited to address judges from a number of countries, developing EU law in relation to religious freedom and discrimination on grounds of religion.
The audience which included judges from the French Cour de Cassation (the Supreme Court for civil law matters) heard how the past year has seen three major rulings from the Court of Justice in relation to bans on religious symbols at work, religious discrimination and the limits of the right of religious employers to discriminate to protect their ethos.
Dr McCrea said:
‘After almost 17 years without a major CJEU decision in these areas, the past year has seen three major decisions which are beginning to clarify the approach of EU law in these matters. The Court has shown a desire to give a significant margin for Member States to define the role of religion in their society while at the same time insisting on respect for EU legal principles such as non-discrimination, proportionality and the striking of a fair balance between competing rights.
The application of EU law depends mainly on enforcement by national judges so events such as this have an important role to play in ensuring consistent application of EU law across the Member States.’