European Convention on Human Rights

“ This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the first major achievements of the U.N. The Declaration has become the standard for international human rights law, beginning with the uncompromising statement: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." ”

“ The inhabitants of a region in a country are entitled to form associations in order to promote the region’s special characteristics. The fact that an association asserts a minority consciousness cannot in itself justify an interference with its rights under Article 11 of the Convention (see the Sidiropoulos judgment, loc. cit., § 44) .
90. Admittedly, it cannot be ruled out that an organisation’s programme may conceal objectives and intentions different from the ones it proclaims. ”

“ For over 20 years, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe has been an important forum in leading humanity's ongoing struggle to define and defend human rights. The Helsinki Final Act of 1975 committed the United States, Canada, and 33 European states to respect "freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion." ”

“ The Court recalls that the admissibility decision delimits the scope of the case before it. It follows that it is not its task to decide on complaints concerning events from 1990 to 1993 (which were declared inadmissible by the Commission) . Nor is it called upon to express a view in this judgment on the question whether the banning of meetings in 1998, 1999 and 2000 or the Constitutional Court’s judgment of 29 February 2000 were consistent with the Convention (those issues being the subject-matter of other applications pending before the Court: nos. 44079/98, 59489/00 and 59491/00) . ”

“ The Union and the Member States, having in mind fundamental social rights such as those set out in the European Social Charter signed at Turin on 18 October 1961 and in the 1989 Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, shall have as their objectives the promotion of employment, improved living and working conditions, so as to make possible their harmonisation while the improvement is being maintained, proper social protection, dialogue between management and labour, the development of human resources with a view to lasting high employment and the combating of exclusion. ”