Religions in Belgian and international law (advanced questions)

Teacher(s)

Christians Louis-Léon;

Language

French

Main themes

In order to achieve these aims, the course will
- give priority to a definition of the Belgian juridical regimes of the religious fact
- examine the historical evolution of the cultural contexts and the religious backgrounds of Belgian law together with the various contemporary orientations of this law, its legislative content (particularly articles 9 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights) and its administrative practice and judiciary argumentation 
- study the juridical condition, in both private and public law, of the personal convictions and the religious institutions .

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	identify the juridical regimes of the religious traditions and practices with reference to the evolution of Belgian law and on the basis of an analysis of a public regulation of religion adapted to a multidisciplinary study of religions.

Content

After an introduction and an overview of Belgian law, the main features of the Belgian system of recognized religions and philosophical organizations will be presented and discussed, followed by the system of individual freedom of conscience and religion. In a second part, the main principles and instruments of public international law related to freedom of religion and conscience will be analyzed. In the last part, a special question will be treated at the students' choice.

Teaching methods

Teaching ex cathedra for introduction - Reverse class for the advancement of students' personal research.
COVID: Face-to-face teaching will be encouraged wherever possible.
Hybrid modalities for online teaching are possible.

Evaluation methods

The assessment will be based on a written assignment of about fifteen pages on a special issue, chosen by the student, in regard to Belgian law or International Law or in comparison between his national law and Belgian law.

Other information

A portfolio of readings will be available for the students.

Online resources

See the course moodle website 

Bibliography

CHRISTIANS, L.-L., De POOTER, P., Codex belge Droit & Religions, Bruylant, 2005
CHRISTIANS, L.-L., RIGAUX, M-F., « La liberté de culte », dans M. Verdussen et N. Bonbled (éds.), Les droits constitutionnels en Belgique. Les enseignements jurisprudentiels de la Cour constitutionnelle, du Conseil d'état et de la Cour de cassation, Bruxelles, 2012, pp. 865-897.
CHRISTIANS, Louis-Léon ; OVERBEEKE, Adriaan. Religious Rules and Principles in Belgian Law. In: Bottoni, Rossella, Cristofori, Rinaldo, Ferrari, Silvio, Religious Rules, State Law, and Normative Pluralism - A Comparative Overview, Springer  : Berlin 2016, pp. 91-117
TORFS, R. and VRIELINK, J, “Belgium”, in: Encyclopedia of Law and Religion, General Editor Gerhard Robbers, BRILL, Online on 04 December 2017 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2405-9749_elr_COM_00000009
HILL Mark, Arif A. Jamal, Rossella Bottoni, Silvio Ferrari (dir.), Routledge Handbook of Freedom of Religion or Belief, Routledge, 2022
MCCREA, R., Religion et ordre public de l’Union européenne, Collection droit de l’Union européenne, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2013.

Faculty or entity

CISR