Abstract
The purpose of this article is to take into consideration the impact of unprecedented restrictions due to COVID-19 on the exercise of religious freedom according to the Greek legislation and case-law. The crucial fact to be examined is the proportionality of the exceptional measures of the Greek State. At the beginning of the pandemic, religious ceremonies were allowed only in the presence of clerics, but nowadays they are permitted on the condition that the measures of “social distancing” are being followed strictly. As it is generally accepted, the Greek State managed to deal with the pandemic without deviations from constitutional order and protection of fundamental rights, in accordance with a “pressing social need”. In this context, the case-law of the Greek courts is of great importance, which ruled that the above mentioned restrictions did not offend the principle of proportionality, especially because of their temporary and short-term character. Nevertheless, these restrictive measures must be revised from time to time, considering the updated, epidemiological data in order to be selected the most appropriate and less stringent on a case-by-case basis. Consequently, these judgments do not give government a blank cheque regarding the management of the pandemic, but rather provide them with a clear framework which is able to guarantee the measures’ accordance with the Greek Constitution. However, the potential risk that people may become used to the restrictions imposed after the crisis has passed must not be overlooked.
Highlights
It would have been impossible for the Greek legal order to remain unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic
One of the first individual rights claimed in Europe as early as in the 16th century (Konidaris 2020, p. 65) and analyzed into freedom of religious consciousness and freedom of religious worship, is included among them
Whether the strict state/legislative restrictions imposed on the exercise of religious freedom fulfilled the terms and requirements of the condition of proportionality, which constitutes the threshold of their constitutionality, is a crucial matter
Summary
It would have been impossible for the Greek legal order to remain unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the first individual rights claimed in Europe as early as in the 16th century 65) and analyzed into freedom of religious consciousness and freedom of religious worship, is included among them The latter refers to the exercise of religious duties in ritualistic forms 15) fulfilled the terms and requirements of the condition of proportionality, which constitutes the threshold of their constitutionality, is a crucial matter. In this case, the role of the courts stands exceptionally strong as “it seems easy to predict that waves of. “the courts have played an active role in monitoring the executive in many countries to ensure that checks and balances remain robustly in place” (Tew 2020); it is imperative to combine “normative and political wisdom” (Benítez 2020) when issuing their decisions and that because “in a state of emergency, the judiciary fulfils three main functions: it resolves individual disputes over emergency policies, checks the executive, and clarifies the likely imperfect emergency policies” (Petrov 2020, p. 80)
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