CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 11 décembre 2001

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .sA1D3DA2E { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s94935B0F { width:389.85pt; display:inline-block } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sADADF4A7 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sCB27B9E { width:16.66pt; display:inline-block } .sC5412BEF { width:51.05pt; display:inline-block } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS     948   11.12.2001   Press release issued by the Registrar   FORTHCOMING JUDGMENT   13 December 2001   On 13 December 2001 the European Court of Human Rights (Section 1) will be notifying in writing a Chamber judgment in the case of Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and Others v. Moldova (no. 45701/99). This judgment will be made public in Strasbourg at 2.30 p.m. (local time).   The case concerns an application lodged by the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia ( Mitropolia Basarabiei şi Exarhatul Plaiurilor ) and eleven Moldovan nationals, Mr   Petru Păduraru, Mr Petru Buburuz, Mr Ioan Eşanu, Mr Victor Rusu, Mr Anatol Goncear, Mr   Valeriu Cernei, Mr Gheorghe Ioniţă, Mr Valeriu Matciac, Mr Vlad Cubreacov, Mr Anatol Telembici and Mr Alexandru Magola. Some of the applicants live in Chişinău; the others live in various Moldovan towns. The applicants hold official positions in the applicant church.   The case concerns the Moldovan authorities’ refusal to recognise the applicant (Orthodox Christian) church. That refusal was upheld on 9 December 1997 by a final judgment of the Supreme Court of Justice. That court held that the question of recognition of the applicant church could be resolved only by the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, which had been recognised by the State and from which the applicant church had split, and that any intervention in the conflict by the Moldovan authorities could only make matters worse. In addition, it held that the applicants and the other adherents of the applicant church could freely practise their religion within the Metropolitan Church of Moldova.   Relying on Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of religion), the applicants complained of the Moldovan State’s refusal to recognise the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia as a church and alleged that under the relevant domestic legislation a religious denomination could not be active inside Moldovan territory unless it had first been approved by the authorities.   The applicants further alleged a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) and complained that the Moldovan authorities’ refusal to recognise the applicant church prevented it from obtaining legal personality, so that it had been deprived of the right of access to a court in order to obtain a ruling on any complaint relating to its rights, and in particular its property rights.   Relying on Article 9 read together with Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination), the applicants alleged that, in the exercise of the rights derived from the freedom to manifest one’s religion through observance, the applicant church was the victim of discrimination based on religion since it was not entitled to judicial protection. They further complained of a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) on account of the authorities’ refusal to recognise the applicant church, coupled with their stubborn determination to regard the applicants as members of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. Lastly, the applicants alleged a violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy), asserting that in view of the absence of legal protection for the applicant church they did not have an effective remedy before a national authority to which they could submit the complaints they had raised before the Court.   * * *   The text of the judgment will be available the same day on the Court’s Internet site ( http://www.echr.coe.int ).   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15) Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.