European Judicial Interpretation of the Right to Freedom of Belief

Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) guarantees freedom of belief and its expression. However, the wording of that article was stated in a general manner and did not include detailed provisions explaining the right under study, but rather provided broad frameworks of the right. Therefore, the European Court of Human Rights, as the judicial body entrusted with monitoring the implementation of the right, guaranteed freedom of belief and its expression. The provisions of the Convention clarify all the elements of the right to freedom of belief, the practices it includes, and the restrictions imposed on it, taking into account that the court did not limit itself to the role of interpreter of the texts, but rather went beyond it to establish judicial principles not stipulated in the Convention. From this standpoint, the European judicial interpretation of the right to freedom of belief was the decisive factor in evaluating the protection provided to the right to freedom of belief on the European continent.