NRDO

Daniela-Anca Deteşeanu, The European Court of Human Rights in crisis? (II) - La réforme à droit constant – a silent transformation of the Court?

Abstract: Seen as a continuation of the study “La Cour Européenne des Droits de l’Homme en crise ?”, whose first part was published in the previous number of the journal, the article “La réforme à droit constant – une transformation silencieuse de la Cour?” focuses on certain atypical modalities to reform the system of the European Convention of Human Rights, which did not or do not involve a change of the conventional provisions. It considers, on one hand, a series of practices developed by the European Court of Human Rights itself (as the procedure of pilot judgements or various applications of the principle of subsidiarity), in order to limit the number of individual applications submitted to it, and, on the other hand, the measures adopted in the larger framework of the Council of Europe, with special regard on the so-called Interlaken process. The conclusions emphasize the importance of the debates concerning the role of the European Court in the future – jurisdiction focused on the individual applications, or jurisdiction playing a quasi-constitutional role in the field of human rights at the European level.

Keywords: European Court of Human Rights, pilot judgements, subsidiarity, Interlaken process

Iustina Ionescu, Discrimination on religious grounds in the jurisprudence of the National Council for Combating Discrimination, from its inception until the end of 2016

Abstract: At the confluence of freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and the right to be free from discrimination, the analysis looks at whether the National Council for Combating Discrimination (NCCD) in Romania has formed a jurisprudential line regarding discrimination on the ground of religion and at the principles on which the NCCD bases its decisions in those cases. The article is organized into four sections dealing with the most important areas in which this type of complaints have been filed: the workplace, public discourse, "closed" areas (such as prisons, the military, the organization of the vote, finding a burial place, schools), as well as the field of property restitution and allocation of public resources. The jurisprudential analysis highlights the challenges that may arise in supporting a strong case of discrimination on the ground of religion: on the one hand, due to the specific facts and concepts relating to discrimination based on religion, on the other hand, due to obstacles raised by the NCCD.

Keywords: National Council for Combating Discrimination, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, discrimination on religious grounds, jurisprudence

Emil Moise, The implementation of the Constitutional Court Decision 669/2014: the vicissitudes of enrolling in Religion classes (II) 

Abstract: This second part of the article documents the involvment of some social actors, primarly the Association Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience, in the implementation the Constitutional Court (CCR) Decision 669 regarding enrollment into Religion class. The analysis covers the period between March 2015 – March 2017. The article also investigates the agreement between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Association Parents in support of Religion Classes, on one side, and officials from relevant institutions, on the other, to hinder the implementation of the dispositions in the CCR decision.

The developments described highlight the great vulnerability of the Romanian state. The analysis shows private alliances have the capacity to block constitutional and legislative decisions and hence proves there is no real „rule of law” in Romania.

Keywords:: Constitutional Court Decision 669/2014, Association Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience, Romanian Orthodox Church, Association Parents in support of Religion Classes, religious education, rule of law

Gabriel Andreescu, Politica Hyperbolized political correctness versus public privacy

Abstract: The article discusses some phenomena from within the American university system: trigger-warnings, micro-aggressions, catastrophising and, alongside them but more widespread, cultural appropriation, for the purpose of evaluating their legitimacy. The conflict between these phenomena and freedom of speech is highlighted, as an argument often used in challenging the former, but also the conflict with the right to develop relationships with the outside world. The article thereby endorses a key principle of the harmonization of the values of liberty and dignity: there is no dignity without freedom.

Keywords: Trigger warnings, microaggressions, catastrophizing, minority appropriation, relationships with the outside world