Liberdade religiosa, igualdade e diferença: reflexões acerca de direito e democracia à luz do julgamento do caso 'S.A.S. v. France' pela Corte Europeia de Direitos Humanos

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of human rights and democracy adopted by European Court of Human Rights in the S.A.S. v. France case. Therefore, this paper will discuss the main aspects of the court decision which ruled that the French ban on face covering did not violate European Convention on Human Rights provisions on freedom of religion. About de structure of this paper, it is divided into three sections. The first one will present the case and the arguments of the European Court decision. In the second section, it will be discussed the core of the decision (the notion of "living in society" as a legitimate justification for limiting fundamental freedoms) in light of the discursive theory by Jürgen Habermas. In the last section, it will be presented the bases to a reconstruction of democracy idea employed by the European Court in light of the Democratic State of Law.