ECtHR Accepts Appeal Against Spanish Court Ruling on Religious Group Membership
The European Court of Human Rights has accepted an appeal from a religious brotherhood and its diocese challenging Spain's Constitutional Court order to admit a woman, arguing it violates religious freedom and autonomy.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has accepted an appeal from the Esclavitud Cristo de La Laguna and the Diocese of Tenerife. This appeal challenges a decision made by Spain's Constitutional Court (TC) in November 2024. The TC had ordered the Brotherhood to change its rules so that a woman, Teresa Laborda, could join. She had previously been excluded because she is a woman.
In a joint statement, the Esclavitud and the Diocese argue that the Constitutional Court's ruling is a serious overreach by the state. They believe it violates the principles of neutrality and secularism, and infringes on the rights to religious freedom and freedom of association.
Their appeal to the ECtHR is based on Articles 9 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. These articles, along with previous ECtHR rulings, state that public authorities cannot force religious groups to accept or reject members.
The Brotherhood and the Diocese contend that their right to religious autonomy and freedom of organization, as protected by the Spanish Constitution and earlier TC decisions, allows them to keep their statutes as they are. They argue that these statutes reflect the Brotherhood's historical and religious identity since its founding in 1659.