ECtHR: Request for an opinion on the scope and application of Article 9
Protocol No. Protocol No. 16 The ECHR gives the highest courts and tribunals in each country, as specified by the states that have ratified the ECHR, the right to ask for advisory opinions regarding questions of principle relating the interpretation or application the rights and liberties defined in the ECHR and its Protocols.
A panel of the Grand Chamber has granted a request by the Belgian Conseil d’État / Raad van State A security guard had submitted a formal application to its administrative division. The Ministry of the Interior issued ID cards authorising people to work as security guards and, in the applicant’s case, it withdrew his card. The Ministry’s grounds for doing so were that he was in contact with individuals associated with the “scientific” strand of Salafism and that he had been assessed as a “supporter of this ideology” by the intelligence services. The applicant alleges that Article 9 has been violated.
The question posed is:
“Does the mere fact of closeness to or membership of a religious movement that is considered by the competent administrative authorities, in view of its attributes, to present a medium- or long-term threat to the country, amount under…
