Publications

Publications round-up (further details below)

Published under Publications

*Texts in green are freely available online

 

JOURNALS

‘Directions in Religious Pluralism in Europe: Mobilizations in the Shadow of European Court of Human Rights Religious Freedom Jurisprudence’, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2015, pp. 54-74 – Effie Fokas

‘Comparative Susceptibility and Differential Effects on the Two European Courts: A Study of Grasstops Mobilizations around Religion’, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2016, pp. 541-574 – Effie Fokas

‘Kokkinakis at the Grassroots Level’, Journal of Religion and Human Rights, 2017, Vol.12, Nos. 2-3, pp. 210-222 – Effie Fokas

‘The Legal Status of Religious Minorities: exploring the impact of the European Court of Human Rights’, Social Compass, 2018, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 25-42 – Effie Fokas

Journal Special Issue: European Court of Human Rights and minority religions, Religion, State and Society, 2017, Vol. 45, Nos. 3-4:

Symposium: Religion and Education in the Shadow of the European Court of Human Rights, Politics and Religion, 2019, Vol. 12, Supplement S1:

Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights], No. 2/2019:

‘Direcții ale pluralismului religios în Europa’ [Directions of religious pluralism in Europe], Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights], No. 2/2019, 2019, pp. 7-9 – Effie Fokas

‘Protecția juridică a grupurilor religioase în lumina deciziei CEDO în speța Tothpal și Szabo împotriva României (2019)’ [The legal protection of religious groups in view of the ECtHR’s decision in the case Tothpal and Szabo v. Romania (2019)], Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights], No. 2/2019, 2019, pp. 11-23 – Mihai Popa and Liviu Andreescu

Case translations:

Cauzele Tothpal şi Szabo c. Românieiși Serif c. Greciei, Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights], No. 2/2019, 2019, pp. 25-48

Cauzele Genov c. Bulgarieiși Hasan & Chaush c. Bulgariei. Fragmente, Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights], No. 2/2019, 2019, pp. 49-56

 

BOOK CHAPTERS

‘Sociology at the intersection between law and religion’, in ed. Silvio Ferrari, Routledge Handbook of Law and Religion, Routledge, 2015, pp. 59-74 – Effie Fokas

‘God’s advocates: The multiple fronts of the war on blasphemy in Greece’, in eds. Jeroen Temperman and Andras Koltay, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression: Comparative, Theoretical and Historical Reflections after the Charlie Hebdo Massacre, Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 389-410 – Effie Fokas

‘The Geopolitics of Transnational Law and Religion’, in eds. Susanna Mancini and Michel Rosenfeld, The Conscience Wars: Rethinking the balance between Religion, Identity and Equality, Cambridge University press, 2018, pp. 258-274 – Pasquale Annicchino

‘Pluralism and Religious Freedom. Insights from Orthodox Europe’, in eds. Elisabeth A. Diamantopoulou and Louis-Leon Christians, Orthodox Christianity and Human Rights in Europe: A Dialogue Between Theological Paradigms and Socio-Legal Pragmatics, Peter Lang, 2018 – Effie Fokas

‘Religious American and Secular European Courts, or vice versa? A study of institutional cross-pollination’, in ed. Titus Hjelm, Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion: 50 Years after the Sacred Canopy, Bloomsbury Academic, 2018, pp. 135-155 – Effie Fokas

‘Implementation and Impact of Strasbourg Court Rulings: The Case of Religious Minorities and Their Convention Freedoms’, in eds.  Jeroen Temperman, T. Jeremy Gunn and Malcolm D. Evans, The European Court of Human Rights and the Freedom of Religion or Belief: The 25 Years since Kokkinakis, Brill, 2019, pp. 388-418 – Dia Anagnostou

‘Grassroots Level Awareness about Religion at the European Court of Human Rights’, in eds. Jeroen Temperman, T. Jeremy Gunn and Malcolm D. Evans, The European Court of Human Rights and the Freedom of Religion or Belief: The 25 Years since Kokkinakis,  Brill, 2019, pp. 419-440 – Effie Fokas

‘Religion and Human Rights in Greece’, in eds. Giuseppe Giordan and Siniša Zrinščak, Global Eastern Orthodoxy: Politics, Religion, and Human Rights, forthcoming 2019 – Effie Fokas

‘In the shadow of the ‘prevailing’ religion: religious communities and civil society in Greece’, Religious Communities and Civil Society in Europe: Analyses and Perspectives on a Complex Interplay, Volume 1, ed. Rupert Graf Strachwitz, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2019, pp. 41-60 – Margarita Markoviti

 

BOOKS

The European Court of Human Rights and minority religions: messages generated and messages received, eds. Effie Fokas and James T. Richardson, (2018) Abingdon: Routledge:

– ECtHR and case law: clarity, consistency and controversy

  • ‘The principled slope: religious freedom and the European Court of Human Rights’ – Melanie Adrian
  • ‘The freedom to wear religious clothing in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights: an appraisal in the light of states’ positive obligations’ – Marcella Ferri
  • ‘Human rights and religions: ‘living together’ or dying apart? A critical assessment of the dissenting opinion in S.A.S. v. France and the notion of ‘living together’’ – Christos Tsevas
  • ‘Militant or pluralist secularism? The European Court of Human Rights facing religious diversity’ – Roberta Medda-Windischer
  • ‘Update on Jehovah’s Witness cases before the European Court of Human Rights: implications of a surprising partnership’ – James T. Richardson
  • ‘Trying Islam: Muslims before the European Court of Human Rights’ – Turan Kayaoglu
  • ‘A rights-based discourse to contest the boundaries of state secularism? The case of the headscarf bans in France and Turkey’ – Amélie Barras

– The ECtHR at grassroots level

  • ‘The European Court of Human Rights at the grassroots level: who knows what about religion at the ECtHR and to what effects?’ – Effie Fokas
  • ‘The ‘filtering effects’ of ECtHR case law on religious freedoms: legal recognition and places of worship for religious minorities in Greece’ – Margarita Markoviti
  • ‘‘Genuine’ religions and their arena of legitimation in Italy – the role of the ECtHR’ – Alberta Giorgi and Pasquale Annicchino
  • ‘Legal provisions, courts, and the status of religious communities: a socio-legal analysis of inter-religious relations in Romania’ – Mihai Popa and Liviu Andreescu
  • ‘Beyond legal victory or reform: the legal mobilisation of religious groups in the European Court of Human Rights’ – Ceren Ozgul

Alberta Giorgi, Religioni di minoranza tra Europa e laicità locale [Minority religions between Europe and local secularism], (2018) Milan: Mimesis

Pasquale Annicchino, La religione in giudizio. Tra Corte Suprema degli Stati Uniti e Corte Europea dei diritti dell’uomo, (2018) Bologna: Il Mulino

The European Court of Human Rights on the Ground: Grassroots Level Impact of Religious Freedoms Jurisprudence, ed. Effie Fokas (forthcoming 2020):

  • ‘Introduction’ – Effie Fokas
  • ‘“Multi-Speed Religions”: The ECtHR and the Limits of Legal Recognition of Religious Minorities in Greece’ – Margarita Markoviti
  • ‘The strategic action of religious minorities in Italy’ – Pasquale Annicchino and Alberta Giorgi
  • ‘The interest of religious actors in the ECtHR in the Romanian context’ – Mihai Popa
  • ‘Legal Mobilization among Turkey’s religious minorities and belief groups’ – Ceren Ozgul
  • ‘The role of Jehovah’s Witnesses case law in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights’ – James T. Richardson and Mihai Popa
  • ‘The modest and variable recourse of Europe’s ‘old’ and ‘new’ Muslims to human rights litigation’ – Dia Anagnostou
  • ‘Pursuing freedom from religion: Atheists, secularists, and humanists’ activism before the ECtHR’ – Effie Fokas and Julie Ringelheim
  • ‘Conclusion: Tracing the radiating effects of the ECtHR religion-related jurisprudence’ – TBD

 

ETC.

‘The “radiating effects” of the European Court of Human Rights on social mobilisations around religion in Europe – an analytical frame’, Grassrootsmobilise Working Paper 1, v. 22 May 2015 – Dia Anagnostou and Effie Fokas

‘The Secular Court?’, Grassrootsmobilise Working Paper 2, v. 1 November 2016 – Effie Fokas

‘Religious Pluralism and Education in Greece’, LSE Hellenic Observatory Blog, 21 February 2017 – Effie Fokas and Margarita Markoviti

‘The ECtHR as a Venue for Greco-Turkish Relations: The Treaty of Lausanne and the Muslim Minority in Western Thrace’, Grassrootsmobilise Working Paper 3, v. 4 May 2017 – Margarita Markoviti

‘Local Secularisms in Italy‘, Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN) blog post, 10 May 2019 – Alberta Giorgi

”An underused resource’ at the grassroots level: Freedom of and from religion through the European Court of Human Rights‘, LSE Religion and Global Society blog, September 10 2019 – Effie Fokas

‘Stuck in the middle with Papageorgiou: Missed or new opportunities?’, Strasbourg Observers blog, November 27 2019 – Effie Fokas

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Stuck in the middle with Papageorgiou: Missed or new opportunities?

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Blog post by Effie Fokas on the Papageorgiou and Others v. Greece judgement, for the Strasbourg Observers blog, November 27, 2019.

On 31 October 2019, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgement on the case of Papageorgiou and Others v. Greece, thus adding to its rich case law to do with religious education. Papageorgiou concerns the claim of Greek parents and students that the Greek mandatory religious education and its exemption process violate their Art.2, Protocol 1 right to education in accordance with their own religious or philosophical convictions. The exemption right was limited only to students who are not Orthodox and who submit a formal ‘solemn declaration’ to this effect to their school. On this basis both families in the case also claim violation of their Article 8 right to respect for private life, their Article 9 right to freedom of religion, and the Article 14 prohibition of discrimination.

Read the full post here.

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‘An underused resource’ at the grassroots level: Freedom of and from religion through the European Court of Human Rights

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Blog post by Effie Fokas on the ‘rapid judicialization’ of religion at the European Court of Human Rights, and the Court and its rulings remaining unknown to many grassroots actors, for the LSE Religion and Global Society blog ‘Real-World Approaches: Freedom of Religion or Belief’ series, September 10, 2019.

In May 1993 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, or the Court) gave just satisfaction to Minos Kokkinakis, a Greek Jehovah’s Witness who had been arrested more than 60 times for the crime of proselytism. It was the first case, after its then 33 years of operation, that the Court had issued a judgement finding a state in violation of the freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). Since that 1993 judgement the Court has issued over 80 more, calling states out for FoRB infringements. Against the backdrop of this rapid judicialization of religion at the ECtHR it is worth considering, as one measure of successes and failures of FoRB on the ground, the extent to which the ECtHR’s FoRB-related decisions are known at the grassroots level and used by social actors on the ground to win their own ECtHR-established rights.

Read the full post here.

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Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights]

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‘Direcții ale pluralismului religios în Europa’ [Directions of religious pluralism in Europe]

Effie Fokas

Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights], No. 2/2019, 2019, pp. 7-9

Available here (in Romanian).

 

‘Protecția juridică a grupurilor religioase în lumina deciziei CEDO în speța Tothpal și Szabo împotriva României (2019)’ [The legal protection of religious groups in view of the ECtHR’s decision in the case Tothpal and Szabo v. Romania (2019)]

Mihai Popa and Liviu Andreescu

Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights], No. 2/2019, 2019, pp. 11-23

Available here (in Romanian).

 

Case translations:

Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights], No. 2/2019, 2019, pp. 25-48:

Cauzele Tothpal şi Szabo c. României și Serif c. Greciei

Noua Revistă de Drepturile Omului [New Review of Human Rights], No. 2/2019, 2019, pp. 49-56:

Cauzele Genov c. Bulgariei și Hasan & Chaush c. Bulgariei. Fragmente

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Implementation and Impact of Strasbourg Court Rulings: The Case of Religious Minorities and Their Convention Freedoms

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Dia Anagnostou

in eds. Jeroen Temperman, T. Jeremy Gunn and Malcolm D. Evans, The European Court of Human Rights and the Freedom of Religion or Belief: The 25 Years since Kokkinakis, Brill, 2019, pp. 388-418

In the developing case law of the European Court of Human Rights (‘the Court’, or ECtHR) related to religious freedom over the past twenty-five years, the rights of adherents of minority religions occupy a prominent place. While legal scholars have explored the evolving human rights jurisprudence in this area, we still know far less as to whether national authorities actually redress the substantial number of rights violations that the Court has found in relation to religious minorities. In filling this gap, this chapter explores the measures and reforms that states undertake in complying with the ECtHR judgments related to the rights of religious minorities in five countries: Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia and Romania. Do state authorities in these countries implement the relevant ECtHR judgments that find national law and practice to be at odds with human rights principles, and do the adopted measures enhance the religious freedom of minorities? Do they give full effect to the judgments, or do they only partially or superficially do so? Besides exploring the general measures that these national authorities implement, this study also comparatively analyses the factors that account for variations in state compliance with ECtHR judgments related to the religious freedom of minorities. The chapter argues that implementation of ECtHR rulings to redress violations of religious freedom can expand the rights of religious minorities to practice their faith, only under the condition that there is sufficient support by a “domestic compliance coalition” that can pressure the government to undertake legal and policy reform in this area.

Available here.

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Grassroots Level Awareness about Religion at the European Court of Human Rights

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Effie Fokas

in eds. Jeroen Temperman, T. Jeremy Gunn and Malcolm D. Evans, The European Court of Human Rights and the Freedom of Religion or Belief: The 25 Years since Kokkinakis, Brill, 2019, pp. 419-440

This chapter draws on research designed to bring the influence on religious pluralism of the European Court of Human Rights into sharp focus, but from the ground up: we have access to information about the direct effect of the Court in terms of implementation, or not, of its decisions via policy change enacted by national governments, but we have little insight into the indirect effects of the Court, in terms of whether and the extent to which the Court’s case law mobilises grassroots level actors in pursuit of their rights. A study of the indirect effects of case law includes attention to the many ways its decisions are deployed by social actors in their rights campaigns, and in many venues outside of courts.  The broader research from which the present chapter emanates focuses not on the gap between the promise of certain court decisions and actual social change but rather on the gap between such decisions and the change in societal expectations: to what extent do court decisions lead to a shift in social actors’ conceptions of their rights, in their discourse about those rights, and in their propensity to pursue those rights, whether through legal or political means? Answers to this question presuppose a far more basic one: how aware of the Court and its religion-related case law are social actors at the grassroots level? European institutions are notoriously exposed to criticism as non-transparent and distant from the citizen. This is no less the case for the ECtHR. To what extent does knowledge about the Court’s decisions related to religion trickle down to grassroots actors with a vested interest in these decisions, and to what effects?

Available here.

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Local Secularisms in Italy

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Blog post by Alberta Giorgi, Researcher for GRASSROOTSMOBILISE, on the different “local secularisms” that have taken shape in Italy that are often built directly in relation to Italy’s Catholic culture and state politics, for the blog of the Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN), May 10, 2019.

Italy is well-known to be a Catholic country, and this public identity has heavily influenced the cultures of secularity that developed in the country, as well as the forms of nonreligion that have taken shape.

Considering the data, “nonreligiosity” is steadily growing in Italy, while Catholic religiosity is decreasing. According to the Pew Research Center, for example, nonbelievers are 21% of the Italian population. The data are consistent with local survey findings that show a steady growth in the rates of nonreligiosity — in 2008, nonreligious people (nones) accounted for 11% of the population. With the exception of a small percentage of “other affiliations” (3%), the rest of the population positions itself in a continuum ranging between “committed catholic” to “cultural Catholic” (born into the Catholic religion and respectful, but seldom practitioners)[1]. Studies have focused on the role of the process of secularization and the decreasing rate of female religiosity, which has impacted the intergenerational transmission of faith, making it more unlikely to be born into the Catholic tradition. Taken together, nonreligious people are both those leaving Catholic religion, as well as those who leave other religions, and, increasingly, those who grew up in nonreligious families. However, this is only part of the story.

Read the full post here.

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Symposium: Religion and Education in the Shadow of the European Court of Human Rights

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Politics and Religion, 2019, Vol. 12, Supplement S1

A symposium on the “indirect effects” of the European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence on the place of religion in the educational sphere. The symposium showcases empirical research providing critical insight into how the Court’s decisions may influence related domestic debates, raise public consciousness, and change how social actors perceive their rights and articulate their right claims in the area of religion and education. The research underpinning this symposium represents a clear departure from existing scholarship in this domain: it examines the impact of the Court not from the top-down (Court impact on states and their legislative frameworks) but from grassroots level upwards, in seeking to understand whether, how and to what extent Court decisions influence grassroots level actors’ conceptions of their rights in the domain of religion and education and their efforts to secure new rights vis-à-vis their states.

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