Interpreting the right to freedom of religion in the EU charter of fundamental rights: Outlining and analysing the function of the european convention on human rights according to art 52(3) CFR

The interpretation of fundamental rights guarantees is usually not a self-contained exercise, but rather a matter of different guarantees and sources interacting. Sometimes this is even required by a particular bill of rights. In this regard, article 52(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR) provides that the “meaning and scope” of rights that “correspond” to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are the same as those enshrined in the ECHR. This does not prevent EU law from offering more extensive protection. The right to freedom of religion in article 10(1) CFR is such a right as it corresponds to article 9 ECHR. The effect of article 52(3) CFR is to use the ECHR as a yardstick for interpreting religious freedom in the Charter. In this way, an EU instrument relies on a Council of Europe instrument for the basic meaning of some provisions. The aim of this contribution is to shed more light on the parameters of this method of interpretation by outlining and evaluating the role and function of article 9 ECHR in interpreting freedom of religion in article 10(1) CFR.