Information Note on the Court’s case-law 249
March 2021
Association of orthodox ecclesiastical obedience v. Greece (communicated case) - 52104/20
Article 6
Administrative proceedings
Article 6-1
Access to court
Inadmissibility of an application for judicial review of a temporary restriction linked to COVID-19, on the grounds that the decision was no longer in force when the application was examined: communicated
Article 9
Article 9-1
Manifest religion or belief
Prohibition on collective worship in the context of COVID-19: communicated
In the context of the COVID-19 health crisis the authorities decided to prohibit collective worship from 16 March to 16 May 2020, a period which included Easter. On 30 March 2020 the applicant association lodged an application for judicial review of the measures in question (accompanied by a request for interim measures and a request for a stay of execution). On 23 June 2020 the Supreme Administrative Court held that it was unnecessary to rule on the application for judicial review, on the grounds that the applicant association, among others, no longer had a legitimate interest in the matter since the joint ministerial decisions at issue had ceased to be applicable.
Communicated under Article 6 § 1 (access to a court) and Article 9 (freedom of religion) of the Convention.
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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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