Resumen de Navigating Between Animal Welfare and Freedom of Religion
In December 2020, for the third time, the European Court of Justice pronounced on ritual slaughter, and had the opportunity of seeking a balance between animal welfare, as set out in Article 13 TFEU and reflected in Regulation 1099/2009, and the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, enshrined in Article 10 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. To explore the delicate issue of the reconciliation between animal welfare and the freedom to manifest religion, this contribution first analyses the notion of animal welfare in the EU law. In the second place, it examines the ECJ case law on ritual slaughter and third, it investigates the content and the scope of the right to freedom of religion in the EU law taking ritual slaughter as a case study. Finally, before drawing some conclusion, it explores the issue of the Member States’ margin of appreciation and its relationship with the principle of subsidiarity in the light of the Court’s case law previously examined.
