Church of Scientology v. Sweden
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''Church of Scientology v. Sweden'' (8282/78) was a case decided by the European Commission of Human Rights in 1980.


Background

In 1975, a Swedish newspaper published certain statements made in the course of lecture by a professor of theology, including that "Scientology in the most untruthful movement there is. It is the cholera of spiritual life. That is how dangerous it is". Request by the
Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...
to start proceedings against the publisher was rejected by the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
.


Decision

The commission declared the application inadmissible. Concerning Article 9 of the
Convention Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...
( freedom of religion), it noted that ''the Commission does not exclude the possibility of criticism or 'agitation' against a church or religious group reaching such a level that it might endanger freedom of religion and where a tolerance of such behaviour by the authorities could engage State responsibility. However, the Commission does not consider that such an issue arises on the facts of the present case'' (Para. 5). Concerning Article 6 (access to court), the Commission reaffirmed that the right of an individual to protect his reputation can be regarded as a civil right protected by Article 6, but did not extend this protection to a group, when the national legislation didn't foresee that (Para. 19).


See also

* ''
X. and Church of Scientology v. Sweden ''X. and Church of Scientology v. Sweden'' (7805/77) was a case decided by European Commission of Human Rights in 1979. Facts In 1973, the Church of Scientology of Sweden placed an advertisement for an E-meter in its periodical. The Consumer Om ...
'' *
Scientology and the legal system The Church of Scientology has been involved in court disputes in several countries. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, questions have been raised as to its motives. The Church of Scientology says that its use of the legal sy ...


External links


EComHR decision (extracts)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Scientology V. Sweden Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights European Court of Human Rights cases involving Sweden Free speech case law Scientology litigation 1980 in case law