CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 5 mars 2024

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .s5E1364CA { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sC02E897A { margin-top:42pt; margin-bottom:14pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s34DFC730 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s339D85E6 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s780F5245 { border:0.75pt solid #000000; clear:both } .sA5881AC3 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; padding-top:1pt; padding-right:4pt; padding-left:4pt } .sEC28DD31 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; padding-right:4pt; padding-left:4pt } .sE208486F { font-family:Arial; color:#ff0000 } .sEB972D3E { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt; text-align:justify; padding-right:4pt; padding-left:4pt } .s55E5497F { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt; text-align:center; padding-right:4pt; padding-left:4pt; padding-bottom:1pt; font-size:10pt } .s10950C61 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt; text-align:justify } .s598389FB { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:14pt } .sF5E1C6CF { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline; color:#ff0000 } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s598389F8 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:11pt } .s2E932ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:11pt } .s4ACA9207 { page-break-before:always; clear:both; mso-break-type:section-break } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sA43C3626 { width:28.35pt; font-family:Arial; display:inline-block } .s3AAE10DF { margin-top:14pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s3CA22BA { font-family:Arial; text-transform:uppercase } .s2D9C6089 { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:14.2pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s6B505E72 { margin:0pt; padding-left:0pt } .s329183A { margin-top:14pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-family:Arial; font-size:14pt; text-transform:uppercase } .sE5EEB06B { margin-top:14pt; margin-left:18.45pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:-18.45pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-family:Arial; text-transform:uppercase } .s3936C9DD { width:11.78pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .s8B983D37 { text-transform:none } .sBB64854C { width:8.45pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .sE8F2C496 { width:5.11pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .sA2548810 { margin-top:14pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:10pt } .s718D1C37 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:10pt } .s9D48DD53 { margin-top:6pt; margin-left:21.25pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-indent:7.1pt; text-align:justify; font-size:10pt } .s743F3A55 { margin-right:0pt; margin-left:0pt; padding-left:0pt } .s6F9C7ED9 { margin-left:18.45pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:-18.45pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s7D18490B { margin-top:14pt; margin-left:25.5pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:-17pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s5BDECA8 { width:5pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .s99272BBB { margin-left:8.5pt; margin-bottom:6pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-weight:normal; font-style:italic } .s54B12A03 { width:6.99pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .sD78567D { margin-left:8.5pt; margin-bottom:6pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:10pt; font-weight:bold; font-style:normal } .s30C8A987 { width:4.78pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .sD68C6A41 { margin-top:14pt; margin-left:42.5pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-indent:-17pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt; font-weight:bold } .s4E0353E8 { width:4.23pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .s452883D { margin-top:14pt; margin-left:34pt; margin-bottom:6pt; text-indent:-17pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sB42B2F5B { margin-top:14pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; line-height:150%; font-size:14pt } .sF0C78780 { margin-top:14pt; margin-left:17pt; margin-bottom:3pt; text-indent:-17pt; text-align:justify; font-family:Arial } .sFBC99493 { font-style:italic } .sB5B0CEA { margin-top:14pt; margin-left:17pt; margin-bottom:3pt; text-indent:-17pt; text-align:justify; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-family:Arial } .s974F4397 { margin-left:17pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .sE5BF05B1 { width:2.33pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .s31FAC864 { margin-left:17.05pt; text-indent:-17.05pt; list-style-position:inside } .sE5C1F6E3 { width:3.33pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .s264C04A0 { margin-left:17.05pt; text-indent:-17.05pt } .s5165BC52 { margin-left:17pt } .s69DCC830 { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sC986E16F { font-family:Arial; color:#ffffff } .sAE1ABF8F { width:36.89pt; font-family:Arial; display:inline-block } .sD6241138 { width:166.45pt; font-family:Arial; display:inline-block } .s1E019DFF { width:46.56pt; font-family:Arial; display:inline-block } .sA49AD2E4 { width:177.11pt; font-family:Arial; display:inline-block } .s379BC09C { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .sC36A6361 { font-family:Arial; color:#000000 } .fixListIndent { list-style-position: inside } FOURTH SECTION CASE OF FÖDERATION DER ALEVITEN GEMEINDEN IN ÖSTERREICH v. AUSTRIA (Application no. 64220/19)     JUDGMENT   Art 9 • Freedom of religion • Refusal to register applicant association as a religious community • Domestic authorities’ failure to provide relevant and sufficient reasons • Interference not “necessary in a democratic society” Art 6 § 1 (civil) • Ratione materiae • Registration of applicant association did not constitute a “civil right” falling under the scope of Art   6 §   1 • Applicant association had legal personality and was able to operate • No property or non-pecuniary claims at stake   Prepared by the Registry. Does not bind the Court.   STRASBOURG 5 March 2024   FINAL   05/06/2024   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.   In the case of Föderation der Aleviten Gemeinden in Österreich v.   Austria, The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Tim Eicke , President ,   Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer,   Faris Vehabović,   Branko Lubarda,   Armen Harutyunyan,   Anja Seibert-Fohr,   Anne Louise Bormann , judges , and Milan Blaško, Section Registrar, Having regard to: the application (no.   64220/19) against the Republic of Austria lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by an association registered in Austria, Föderation der Aleviten Gemeinden in Österreich (“the applicant association” or “the applicant”), on 11   December 2019; the decision to give notice to the Austrian Government (“the Government”) of the complaints concerning Article 6 § 1 and Article 9 of the Convention and to declare the remainder of the application inadmissible; the parties’ observations; Having deliberated in private on 30   January 2024, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: INTRODUCTION 1 .     The application concerns the refusal to register the applicant association as a religious community ( religiöse Bekenntnisgemeinschaft ) under the Legal Status of Registered Religious Communities Act ( Bundesgesetz über die Rechtspersönlichkeit von religiösen Bekenntnisgemeinschaften , Federal Law Gazette I no. 19/1998 – hereinafter “the Religious Communities Act”, see paragraph 27 below). It raises issues under Article   6 §   1 and Article   9 of the Convention. THE FACTS 2.     The applicant association was registered in 1998 and has its seat in Vienna. It was represented by Mr W. Schwartz, a lawyer practising in Vienna. 3.     The Government were represented by their Agent, Mr H. Tichy, Head of the International Law Department at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. 4 .     The facts of the case may be summarised as follows.         FIRST SET OF PROCEEDINGS 5 .     The applicant is an umbrella association ( Dachverband ) of several Alevi cultural associations ( alevitische Kulturvereine ) in Austria. Between 2008 and 2009, the applicant association was in correspondence with representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, with a view to preparing its request to be granted legal personality as a registered religious community under the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph   1 above and paragraph 27 below), under the name “Alevi Religious Society in Austria” ( Alevitische Religionsgesellschaft in Österreich – hereinafter “ARÖ”). In particular, the applicant association submitted the draft statutes of ARÖ to the representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, who provided comments on how to improve their compliance with the Religious Communities Act. 6 .     In March 2009 one of the applicant association’s members, the regional Alevi Cultural Association in Vienna ( Kulturverein der Aleviten in Wien – hereinafter “the Vienna Alevi Cultural Association”) made a request to the Federal Minister of Education, Arts and Culture (hereinafter “the Federal Minister”) for recognition as a legally recognised religious society under the Recognition Act (see paragraph 26 below), under the name “Islamic Alevi Denomination in Austria” ( Islamische Alevitische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich – hereinafter “ALEVI”) and, in the alternative, for acquisition of legal personality as a registered religious community under the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph 27 below). The applicant association claims that this request was made without its prior knowledge or consent. 7 .     On 9 April 2009 the applicant association requested the Federal Minister to issue a declaration to the effect that ARÖ (see paragraph 5 above) had acquired legal personality as a registered religious community under the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph 1 above and paragraph 27 below). In its request, the applicant association argued that, as an umbrella association of several Alevi cultural associations, it represented the 6,000-plus followers of Alevism in Austria who were members of those cultural associations. In ARÖ’s statutes, attached to the request, Alevism was defined as “an independent and syncretic faith with particular links to Islam” ( eigenständiger und synkretischer Glaube mit besonderen Bezügen zum Islam ) as well as an “independent entity within Islam” ( eigenständige Größe innerhalb des Islams ). The term “member” of ARÖ was defined as any person professing Alevism ( Alevitentum ) and having his or her principal place of residence in Austria. 8 .     On 20 May and 4 September 2009 the applicant association submitted amended versions of ARÖ’s statutes. In the amended versions, the definition of membership remained unchanged, while the passage “independent entity within Islam” had been removed and the member congregations were now permitted to add a chosen affix to the standard names set out in the statutes, so as to reflect their specific tradition within Alevism. While in the statutes of 20 May 2009 “Alevi-Islamic” was one of the examples of such name affixes, the version of 4 September 2009 listed only “Alevi-Bektashi” as such an example. 9 .     On 25 August 2009 the Federal Minister dismissed both of the requests from the Vienna Alevi Cultural Association (see paragraph 6 above). The Islamic Denomination in Austria ( Islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich – hereinafter “the IGGÖ”), the legally recognised body representing followers of Islam in Austria, as an interested party, had commented unfavourably on the requests and asked the Federal Minister to deny them, arguing that they constituted an interference in its internal affairs. IGGÖ had argued that Alevism was a syncretic faith that was diametrically opposed to the religious doctrine of Islam. Any description of the religious group as “Islamic” and any reference in the request to “Islam” was therefore to be removed. In rejecting the requests, the Federal Minister held that since ALEVI described its faith as Islamic and given that a legally recognised religious society for Islam already existed and was recognised under the Islam Act (see paragraph   26 below), it was not possible for another religious association which defined itself as “Islamic” to be registered or recognised. On 7 October 2009 the Vienna Alevi Cultural Association lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court against the Federal Minister’s administrative decision. On the same date, the Federal Minister decided to suspend the proceedings in the applicant association’s case (see paragraph 7 above) until judgment had been delivered on the Vienna Alevi Cultural Association’s constitutional complaint. 10 .     In a judgment of 1 December 2010 (B1214/09, VfSlg.   19.240/2010), the Constitutional Court set aside the contested administrative decision on account of a violation of the Vienna Alevi Cultural Association’s constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion under Article 9 of the Convention. It held that the State, which had the duty to remain neutral in questions of religion, was not allowed to impose unity between a legally recognised religious society and another religious community, where such unity would run counter to the latter’s self-identification, did not exist in fact and was not sufficiently corroborated by theological criteria. The authorities should have assessed on the basis of the existing documents whether the legal requirements were fulfilled, in particular whether there existed a sufficient distinction in doctrine from that of existing religious communities. The impugned administrative decision had thus failed to apply the provisions of the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph 27 below) in line with Article   9 of the Convention. 11 .     On 16 December 2010 the Federal Minister declared that ALEVI had acquired legal personality as a registered religious community under the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph 6 above). On the same day the Federal Minister dismissed the applicant association’s request for registration and acquisition of legal personality (see paragraph 7 above), finding that the latest version of its statutes, which it had submitted on 4 September 2009, was to a large extent not only similar but virtually identical in wording to those of ALEVI. Their doctrines differed solely with respect to their position towards Islam. While ALEVI described its faith as Islamic ( islamische Glaubensrichtung ), Article   2   §   1 of ARÖ’s statutes, submitted by the applicant association, defined Alevism as an independent and syncretic faith with particular links to Islam ( eigenständiger und synkretischer Glaube mit besonderen Bezügen zum Islam ; see paragraph 7 above). The repeated amendments to the applicant association’s submissions (see paragraph   7 above), the open wording of the statutes which allowed for its religious congregations to use name affixes such as “Alevi-Islamic” and the conduct of the applicant association’s representatives showed that the supposed differences in doctrine did not in fact exist. In the absence of a sufficiently distinguishable doctrine, the statutes submitted by the applicant association did not fulfil the requirements of section 4(1)(2) of the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph 27 below). 12 .     On 31 January 2011 the applicant association lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court, relying on Article 9 of the Convention, and provided an expert opinion by two professors from the University of Vienna dated 25   January 2011 in support of its claim. It submitted, among other arguments, that the Vienna Alevi Cultural Association had been one of its member associations, but that it had requested registration as a religious community (see paragraph 9 above) without the applicant association’s knowledge or consent as an umbrella association (see paragraph 5-6 above). The wording of the earlier versions of the statutes had been based on an attempt to find a compromise with the Vienna Alevi Cultural Association, with which disagreement had arisen over the position towards Islam. The statutes submitted with the request of 9 April 2009 (see paragraph 7 above), and those of 20 May 2009 (see paragraph 8 above), had thus used wording which would include member associations identifying as Islamic. When it became clear that the dispute with the Vienna Alevi Cultural Association could not be resolved, the applicant association had amended its statutes, with the version of 4 September 2009 ultimately removing “Alevi ‑ Islamic” as a possible name affix. On 28 November 2011 the Constitutional Court declined to deal with the complaint. The applicant lodged an extraordinary appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court, reiterating its arguments. 13.     On 5 November 2014 the Supreme Administrative Court set aside the Federal Minister’s administrative decision of 16 December 2010 (see paragraph   11 above) as unlawful. It held that the Federal Minister’s refusal to grant legal personality as a registered religious community pursuant to section   5(1)(2) of the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph 27 below) should have been based solely on an evaluation of the statutes submitted by the applicant association and not on the conduct of its representatives.       SECOND SET OF PROCEEDINGS 14 .     On 11 May 2015, on the basis of the statutes dated 4 September 2009 (see paragraph 8 above), the Federal Minister once again dismissed the applicant association’s request of 9 April 2009 (see paragraph 7 above), upholding his reasoning that the applicant’s doctrine did not differ sufficiently from that of ALEVI, which had in the meantime become a legally recognised religious society under the Act on the External Legal Relations of Islamic Religious Societies ( Bundesgesetz über die äußeren Rechtsverhältnisse islamischer Religionsgesellschaften , Federal Law Gazette   I no. 39/2015 – hereinafter “the Islam Act”), which had entered into force on 31 March 2015 (see paragraph 26 below). Therefore, the applicant’s statutes did not fulfil the requirement of section 4 (1)(2) of the Religious Communities Act (a religious doctrine which differs from the doctrines of existing religious communities). Furthermore, the requested name – namely, “Alevi Religious Society in Austria” ( Alevitische Religionsgesellschaft in Österreich – see paragraph 5 and 7 above) – wrongly implied the status of a legally recognised religious society rather than that of a registered religious community and did not prevent confusion with ALEVI, as required by section   4(1)(1) of the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph 27 below). 15.     On 10 June 2015 the applicant appealed against the decision of 11   May 2015 and requested an oral hearing before the Federal Administrative Court. It argued that it had conducted talks in January 2015 with an official from the Federal Ministry and had informed her that the statutes were currently being amended in order to clarify distinctions in relation to the doctrine of ALEVI. The Federal Minister had overlooked that fact in his decision. 16 .     The Federal Minister upheld his reasoning in his preliminary decision on the appeal ( Beschwerdevorentscheidung ) on 7 August 2015. He added that the announcement in January 2015 that the applicant association’s statutes were being amended had not had any legal effect. At the request of the applicant, he referred the complaint to the Federal Administrative Court. On 11   March 2016 the Federal Administrative Court, without holding an oral hearing, dismissed the applicant’s complaint as ill-founded. It concluded that the religious doctrine presented in the statutes of the applicant association did not in fact differ from that of ALEVI. In the meantime, in October 2015, ALEVI had changed its name from “Islamic Alevi Denomination in Austria (ALEVI)” (see paragraph   9 above) to “Alevi Denomination in Austria (ALEVI)” ( Alevitische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich   (ALEVI)). 17 .     The applicant lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court and referred to its amended statutes dated 7 May 2015. In her submissions in reply, the Federal Minister noted that the applicant had never submitted those allegedly amended statutes. On 22 April 2016 the applicant lodged an appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court. In her submissions in reply, the Federal Minister reiterated that the applicant had still not submitted the allegedly amended statutes. On 24   November 2016 the Constitutional Court declined to deal with the complaint. On 22 November 2017 the Supreme Administrative Court set aside the Federal Administrative Court’s judgment of 11 March 2016 (see paragraph 16 above) as being unlawful owing to lack of jurisdiction. The matter lay within the competence of the Vienna Regional Administrative Court and not the Federal Administrative Court. On 15   December 2017 the Federal Administrative Court rejected the applicant’s appeal of 10 June 2015 (see paragraph 14 above) for lack of jurisdiction. 18 .     On 8 February 2018 the Federal Minister referred the appeal to the Vienna Administrative Court. On 27 April 2018 the applicant association requested that several witnesses be heard, with a view to demonstrating that its religious doctrine was distinct from that of other religious bodies. On 4   June 2018 the applicant made additional observations. It submitted for the first time its amended statutes, dated 7 May 2015 (see paragraph 17 above), declarations of membership signed by more than 300 persons accompanied by their addresses and copies of their identity cards, and an additional list allegedly containing a further 4,000 members. In the amended statutes, the term “member” continued to be defined as any person professing Alevism and having his or her principal place of residence in Austria (see paragraph   7 in fine above). 19 .     On 10 December 2018 the Vienna Administrative Court set a date for an oral hearing in the applicant’s case on 28 December 2018. On 14   December 2018 the applicant requested that the hearing be moved to a later date because, among other reasons, the short notice given did not allow it to bring its witnesses (see paragraph 18 above) to the court. On 17   December 2018 the Vienna Administrative Court rejected the request and asked the applicant to indicate, by the date of the hearing, which declarations of support were still valid. The applicant submitted that it was impossible to review 335 pages of declarations of support within five business days but that it could, however, ensure the presence of at least 300 persons who could confirm their support at the hearing. The applicant asked the court to make provision for them to be heard as witnesses at the hearing. 20 .     On 28 December 2018 the Vienna Administrative Court held the oral hearing. The applicant submitted that it had changed the name of the religious community to “Alevi-Bektashi Denomination in Austria” ( Alevitisch ‑ Bektaschi Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich ) in order to distinguish itself more clearly from the existing religious community ALEVI which – despite its recent name change (see paragraph 16 above) – still perceived itself as an Islamic faith. The applicant once again submitted the amended statutes of 7   May 2015. Its requests to hear witnesses in order to prove the differences between their religious doctrine and that of ALEVI were dismissed. Its request that the court hear the testimony of those followers who were present to confirm their adherence to the religious community was also denied. 21 .     On 4 January 2019 the Vienna Administrative Court held another oral hearing, at which 600 members of the religious community were present and willing to confirm their adherence to it. They were not heard by the judge. The representative of the Federal Minister maintained his argument that the statutes submitted by the applicant were not sufficiently different from those of ALEVI. At the hearing, the applicant received, for the first time, a complete copy of ALEVI’s statutes. On 22 January 2019 the applicant again submitted amended statutes, dated 19 January 2019, according to which the name of the religious community had been changed to “European-Alevi Denomination in Austria” ( Europäisch-Alevitische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich ). In the statutes, the term “member” continued to be defined as any person professing Alevism and having his or her principal place of residence in Austria (see paragraphs 7 and 18 in fine above). The amended statutes now included an annexed table, in which the differences in the religious doctrines between the European-Alevi Denomination in Austria and ALEVI were illustrated with reference to the relevant provisions of their respective statutes. On 24 January 2019 the Vienna Administrative Court held another oral hearing. The representative of the Federal Minister argued, for the first time, that the start of membership, as defined in the statutes, was questionable ( bedenklich ), since it did not require a constitutive act. The applicant responded that the concept of membership fulfilled the legal requirements and could be specified if required. The judge did not comment further on that issue. 22 .     On 29 January 2019 the Vienna Administrative Court gave its decision and, dismissing the applicant’s appeal, upheld the decision by the Federal Minister of 11 May 2015 (see paragraph 14 above). It examined the version of the applicant association’s statutes dated 7 May 2015 (see paragraph   18 above) and found that they were still, to a large extent, identical to those of ALEVI. Apart from removing the word “Islamic”, ALEVI had not changed the doctrine in its statutes. When comparing the doctrines in the statutes, they appeared to the judge to be copy-pasted. The Vienna Administrative Court further stated that the applicant’s submission of the revised statutes, dated 19 January 2019, only a few days after they had received ALEVI’s statutes (see paragraph 21 above) showed that the amendment was only made to further distinguish the applicant’s statutes from those of ALEVI. The repeated amendments to the applicant’s statutes gave the impression that the religious community was not really committed to its statutes but rather saw them as a means to achieve the goal of registration. Owing to the frequent amendments, it was not possible to establish what exactly ARÖ’s doctrine was, and it was not clear whether the persons who had signed declarations of support were in favour of those amendments. If the version of the statutes dated 19   January 2019 (see paragraph 21 above) really expressed their actual religious practice, as submitted by the applicant association, this would mean that the applicant had misled the authorities when it had submitted previous versions of its statutes and stated that these reflected its religious doctrine. The Vienna Administrative Court further noted that the concept of membership in the applicant association’s statutes was too vague and did not clearly define who was a member. For example, members of ALEVI would also qualify as members of the applicant association, according to the definition given. 23 .     The applicant lodged an appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court and a complaint with the Constitutional Court. It argued, among other things, that the Vienna Administrative Court should have examined the latest version of the statutes rather than those of 2015, that none of its requests for evidence had been accepted, and that no expert opinion had been obtained to examine the differences between the doctrine of ALEVI and that of the applicant association. The court’s decision of 29 January 2019 had been surprising and unlawful. It had violated the applicant’s right to freedom of religion. The applicant suggested that the constitutionality of section   4(1)(2) of the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph 27 below) be examined under Article 140 of the Federal Constitution. It did not complain about the reasoning that the concept of membership had not been sufficiently clear. 24 .     On 28 May 2019 the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the applicant’s appeal, arguing that it had not raised any legal questions of fundamental importance. It did not find it necessary to examine the applicant’s argument that the Vienna Administrative Court had failed to consider the latest version of its statutes, in particular when determining whether its doctrine differed sufficiently from that of ALEVI, as that court’s decision was also based on a viable alternative reasoning ( tragfähige Alternativbegründung ) on the concept of membership which the applicant had not challenged in its appeal (see paragraph 23 above). The imprecise concept of membership was also evident in the latest version of the statutes dated 19 January 2019 (see paragraphs 20 and 22 above). On 11 June 2019, referring to its case-law (VfSlg. 19.240/2010 – see paragraph 10 above), the Constitutional Court declined to deal with the applicant’s complaint. The final decision was served on the applicant on 27   June 2019.     SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS 25 .     Following the present application, lodged with the Court on 11   December 2019, on 30 April 2020 the European-Alevi Denomination in Austria ( Europäisch-Alevitische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich ), represented by the applicant association, submitted a request under the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph 27 below) to obtain registration as a religious community. Revised statutes dated 2 November 2019, which have not been submitted to the Court, were attached to that request. On 19   October 2021 a meeting was held at the Federal Ministry to clarify outstanding questions concerning the request, at which the applicant association informed the Ministry that registration was being sought under a new name, the “Free-Alevi Denomination in Austria” ( Frei-Alevitische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich ). Updated statutes were submitted on 7   February 2022, specifying that membership required a personal declaration to an official of the religious community. On 14 March 2022 the Federal Minister declared that the Free-Alevi Denomination in Austria had acquired legal personality as a publicly registered religious community under the Religious Communities Act. In so far as relevant, it reasoned that the name was clearly distinguishable, the experts consulted had concluded that the doctrine was distinguishable from that of ALEVI, and there was no evidence to suggest that the doctrine did not exist in practice in Austria. The provision on membership gave no cause for objections. RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK 26 .     The relevant domestic law was summarised in Religionsgemeinschaft der Zeugen Jehovas and Others v. Austria (no.   40825/98, §§ 37-55, 31   July 2008). Austrian law currently provides for two kinds of special legal personality for religious groups. Under the Law of 20 May 1874 concerning the legal recognition of religious societies ( Gesetz betreffend die gesetzliche Anerkennung von Religionsgesellschaften , published in Imperial Law Gazette   1874/68 – hereinafter “the Recognition Act”) religious groups not yet recognised by law may be granted recognition as “legally recognised religious societies” ( gesetzlich anerkannte Religionsgesellschaften ), a public law status ( Körperschaft öffentlichen Rechts ) to which certain legal privileges are attached. Since 1998, religious groups not already enjoying legal personality under public law as either legally recognised church or religious society may request registration as a “registered religious community” under the Religious Communities Act. In addition, several other religious denominations have obtained recognition through specific laws. In particular, Islam was recognised by the Law of 15 July 1912 concerning the recognition of followers of the Hanafi rite of Islam as religious society ( Gesetz betreffend die Anerkennung der Anhänger des Islam nach hanefitischem Ritus als Religionsgesellschaft , published in Imperial Law Gazette   159/1912 – hereinafter “1912 Islam Recognition Act”). In 1988, after a judgment of the Constitutional Court, the words “of the Hanafi rite” ( nach hanefitischem Ritus ) were removed from the 1912 Islam Recognition Act, making it applicable to all followers of Islam (Federal Law Gazette no. 164/1988). In 2015 the 1912 Islam Recognition Act was replaced by the Islam Act (see paragraph   14 above) which, among other things, provided for the possibility for Islamic religious groups to be granted legal personality as legally recognised religious societies. 27 .     The relevant parts of the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph   1 above) read as follows: Statutes Section 4 “(1)     The statutes shall include: 1.     the name of the religious community, which shall be such that it can be linked to the doctrine of the religious community and prevents confusion with registered religious communities having legal personality and with legally recognised churches and religious societies or their institutions; 2.     a presentation of the religious doctrine, which must differ from the doctrine of existing religious communities under this Act, as well as from the doctrines of legally recognised churches and religious societies; ... 4.     provisions regarding the start and termination of membership ...; ...” Refusal to grant legal personality Section   5 “(1)     The Federal Minister of Education and Cultural Matters shall refuse to grant legal personality [to the religious community] if 1.     in view of its teachings or practice, this is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others; this shall in particular be the case if its activities involve incitement to commit criminal offences, obstruction of the psychological development of adolescents, the undermining of the mental integrity of individuals and the application of psychotherapeutic methods, notably for the purpose of imparting faith; 2.     the statutes do not comply with section   4. ...” Additional requirements for recognition under the Recognition Act Section   11 “To obtain recognition the following requirements shall be fulfilled in addition to the requirements laid down in the Recognition Act: 1.     The community shall (a)     have existed for at least twenty years in Austria, of which ten years in an organised manner, [and] at least five years as a religious community with legal personality in accordance with this Act; or (b)     be integrated administratively and in the doctrine of an internationally active religious society which has existed for at least a hundred years, and [the community shall] have been active in Austria in an organised manner for at least ten years, or (c)     be integrated administratively and in the doctrine of an internationally active religious society which has existed for at least 200 years, and (d)     have a number of adherents amounting to at least two per thousand of the population of Austria as established in the latest census. ... 2.     Income and assets may be used solely for religious purposes, which includes non-profit and charitable purposes based on religious aims. 3.     The community shall have a positive general attitude towards society and the State. 4.     There shall be no unlawful interference with the relationship with existing churches and religious societies recognised by law and other religious communities.” THE LAW         ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 9 OF THE CONVENTION 28.     The applicant association complained that the refusal to register it as a religious community had violated its right to freedom of religion as provided for in Article 9 of the Convention, which reads as follows: “1.     Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance. 2.     Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”    Application of Article 37 of the Convention 29 .     Referring to, among other authorities, Pisano v. Italy ((striking   out)   [GC], no. 36732/97, § 38, 24 October 2002), the Government argued that the situation the applicant complained of no longer existed, since the Federal Minister had registered the community on 14 March 2022 (see paragraph   25 above). The domestic authorities had adequately and sufficiently redressed the situation complained of. By making a new request and revising its statutes, the applicant association had indicated that it agreed with the legal view in the ruling of 11 May 2015 (see paragraph 14 above). The Government were therefore of the opinion that the case should be struck out of the list of pending cases in accordance with subparagraph (b) or, alternatively, subparagraph   (c) of Article 37 § 1 of the Convention. 30.     The applicant association disagreed, arguing that by granting it legal personality as a religious community following its request dated 30   April 2020 (see paragraph 25 above), the authorities had not undone the violation of Article 9 resulting from the dismissal of its initial request (see paragraph   5 above). This violation had inevitably led to an unlawful delay in the community’s legal recognition as a religious society under the Recognition Act (see paragraph 26 above). The applicant expressly disputed that by lodging a new request with revised statutes, it had expressed its agreement with the authorities’ legal view in the decision of 11 May 2015 (see paragraph   14 above). Instead, it had felt compelled to submit a new application with revised statutes in order to obtain registration. The domestic authorities had failed to recognise precisely the violation of rights that the applicant had been asserting before the national authorities for more than ten years. Therefore, that violation had not been redressed. 31.     The Court reiterates that, under Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention, it may “... at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusion that ... the matter has been resolved ...”. In order to ascertain whether that provision applies to the present case, the Court must examine, firstly, whether the circumstances complained of by the applicant still obtain and, secondly, whether the effects of a possible Convention violation on account of those circumstances have also been redressed (see Pisano , cited above, §   42; Vadalà v. Italy (dec.), no. 14656/15, § 29, 7 November 2023; Łuczkiewicz v.   Poland (dec.), no. 1464/14, § 76, 5   December 2023). 32.     In the Court’s opinion, the circumstances complained of, namely the refusal of the applicant association’s request of 9 April 2009 to be registered as a religious community (see paragraph 7 above) and the consequences thereof, namely a delay in the procedure for obtaining legal recognition as a religious society under the Recognition Act (see paragraphs 34 et seq. below), still obtain. Although the applicant was eventually registered as a religious community following a new request, the alleged violation caused by the dismissal of its initial request has not been redressed (ibid.). On the contrary, the Government argued that by lodging a new application the applicant had itself accepted the refusal of its initial request (see paragraph 29 above). The Court cannot agree with that view and concludes that the applicant has a legitimate interest in pursuing its application. Therefore, the Court rejects the Government’s request for the application to be struck out.    Admissibility 33.     The Government did not make an objection on account of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. The Court will accordingly continue to examine the complaint, which is neither manifestly ill-founded nor inadmissible on any other grounds listed in Article 35 of the Convention. It should therefore be declared admissible.    Merits      The parties’ submissions    The applicant association 34 .     The applicant association argued that the right to an autonomous existence formed a core guarantee of Article 9. It had been the legitimate aim of the applicant to be registered as a religious community in order to fulfil the requirements to be legally recognised as a religious society with certain legal benefits. The rejection of the applicant’s request meant a denial of the autonomy of its Alevi faith and thus an interference with its right to freedom of religion. The fact that the applicant had enjoyed legal personality as an association could not compensate for the long period during which it had not been granted legal personality as a religious community. 35.     In addition, the arguments put forward by the authorities had assigned the applicant to Islam despite its own point of view. This was contrary to the Court’s case-law in İzzettin Doğan and Others v. Tu rkey   ([GC], no.   62649/10, 26 April 2016). A neutral State was precluded from making an assessment of the content of a religion. It was not the State’s task to judge whether Alevism, as the applicant association understood it, was identical with ALEVI’s Alevism. Making such an assessment violated the requirement of neutrality and objectivity in matters of religious law. 36 .     The State was obliged to provide objective and non-discriminatory criteria so that religious communities had a fair opportunity to apply for a status granting special advantages to religious denominations (ibid.). However, section 4(1)(2) of the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph   27 above) did not comply with the principles of the Convention and the Court’s case-law, notably the case of Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and Others v. Moldova (no.   45701/99, ECHR   2001-XII), according to which even religious groups with the same doctrine could be recognised separately. The applicant had suggested that the domestic courts review the constitutionality of section 4(1)(2) of the Religious Communities Act under Article 140 of the Federal Constitution. The authorities had ignored that request (see paragraphs 23-24 above). 37 .     The interference with the applicant’s registration as a religious community under the Religious Communities Act had not been necessary for reasons of public safety, public order or protection of the rights of others. If the applicant had posed a threat to public interests, it would have had to be dissolved in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Act on Associations ( Bundesgesetz über Vereine , Federal Law Gazette I no.   66/2002 – hereinafter “the Association Act”). Since that had not happened, the national authorities had obviously assumed that the existence of the applicant association was compatible with the Austrian legal system. There had consequently been a violation of Article 9 of the Convention.    The Government 38 .     The Government, relying on Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and Others (cited above, §§ 102-05), Religionsgemeinschaft der Zeugen Jehovas and Others v. Austria (cited above, §§ 64-69), and Metodiev and Others v.   Bulgaria (no. 58088/08, §§ 34 et seq., 15 June 2017), argued that Article   9 did not confer any right to a specific legal status. It merely required that religious groups had the possibility of acquiring legal personality under civil law ( they referred to Magyar Keresztény Mennonita Egyház and Others v.   Hungary , nos. 70945/11 and 8 others, § 91, ECHR   2014 (extracts)). Since the applicant association had legal personality and legal capacity ( Rechtspersönlichkeit und Rechtsfähigkeit ) and its members could freely practise their religion under Austrian constitutional law irrespective of their status as a registered religious community, there had not been an interference with the applicant’s freedom of religion. 39.     Even assuming that there had been an interference, the Government argued that such interference was prescribed by law and that the applicant’s request of 2009 (see paragraph 7 above) had failed to comply with section   4(1)(2) and   (1)(4) of the Religious Communities Act (see paragraph   27 above). They referred to Metodiev and Others (cited above, §§   43 and   45) and argued that section   4(1)(2), requiring statutes to contain a doctrine which differed from doctrines of existing religious communities, churches and religious societies, served the legitimate aim of protecting the rights of others and the public order. Referring to the Constitutional Court’s case-law (see paragraph 10 above), they argued that that provision did not preclude the co-existence of multiple groups within the same denomination. Its purpose was to ensure that existing groups (even within the same denomination) were distinguishable for third parties to avoid the risk of confusion. By no means was the provision aimed at eliminating religious pluralism. 40 .     Section   4(1)(4) of the Religious Communities Act required that the statutes of a religious community include provisions regarding the start and termination of membership (see paragraph 27 above). The purpose of that provision was to provide legal certainty and thus to protect the rights of others and public order. It was modelled on a similar provision in the Association Act (see paragraph 37 above) and thus applied to all associations in Austria. It ensured that there was no doubt as to who was or who could be a member and under what conditions and served the freedom of religious beliefs ( Bekenntnisfreiheit ). The Government referred to Molla Sali v. Greece   ([GC], no.   20452/14, § 156, 19   December 2018). As reasoned by the Vienna Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, the provision on membership in the applicant association’s statutes of 2009, 2015 and 2019 had not been sufficiently precise and thus did not meet the requirement of the law (see paragraphs   7,   18,   20 and 24 above). For example, members of ALEVI would have also qualified as members of the applicant association. Consequently, the two religious groups had not been distinguishable in terms of their membership. 41.     The case was different from that of Metodiev and Others (cited above), because the statutes of 2009 and 2015 were not only similar but nearly identical in wording to those of ALEVI in terms of religious doctrine and thus did not provide any basis for a distinction between the two religious groups. 42 .     In so far as the applicant association argued that the doctrines differed in their respective positions towards Islam, both the Federal Minister and the courts had had doubts about the plausibility of that argument; for instance, the statutes in the 2009 version had not excluded religious congregations from being referred to as “Alevi-Islamic” (see paragraph 11 above). 43 .     Moreover, the name Alevi Denomination in Austria ( Alevitische Religionsgesellsch