The case of Religious Community of Svyato-Uspensky Parish v. Ukraine concerns alleged violations of Article 9 ECHR. The applicant parish, part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, complained that the Ukrainian authorities interfered with its internal life and religious practice, particularly through administrative steps that affected its legal status and control over church property.

The applicant claimed that officials had favored a rival group, i.e. the newly established Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and undermined its autonomy and freedom to manifest religion collectively.

In particular, in many regions, parishes were pressured to re-register under the “new” Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and local authorities often became involved in deciding which group could retain control over church buildings.

The applicants argued that such involvement breached the State’s duty of religious neutrality and constituted an unjustified interference with their rights under Article 9.

The Court reaffirmed that States have a positive obligation to ensure that religious groups can coexist freely and to maintain neutrality when inner disputes arise between rival denominations. When the State’s involvement effectively decides which group represents a faith, this amounts to impermissible interference.

In the instant case, for example, “State authorities chose to completely prohibit, within the framework of criminal proceedings, the use of the church building which was contested by two religious groups. In doing so, they apparently did not take into account the fact that the applicant community, as the owner of the building at the time, had the exclusive right, by law, to use it”.

Therefore, there has been a violation of Article 9 of the Convention.

 

(Comment by Tania Pagotto)