European Court of Human Rights to Hear Holy Synod Case
June 12, 2007

(Strasbourg, France)—On 22 May 2007, a seven judge panel of the Fifth Section of the European Court of Human Rights hearing the case of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and Others v. Bulgaria, deemed that all domestic remedies had been exhausted and that a substantial matter of fact and law existed, thus deeming the application of the Holy Synod admissible on all claims as relates to religious freedom violations, illicit government interference into the operation of the Holy Synod, and illegal deprivation of property.

Holy Synod Members, as well as ECLJ attorneys and Bulgarian lawyer Latchezar Popov are very pleased with the decision, noting that this case is perhaps the largest such Article 9 case in the Court’s history. The significance of the decision also cannot be understated, as on average, more than 90% of cases before the Court are deemed inadmissible.

The claim itself surrounds the events of 20 July 2004, where the Bulgarian government systematically and without judicial warrant ordered the seizure of all of the properties of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and refused legal recourse to the country’s second largest religious denomination; thus cutting off the life line of the church and its ability to operate.

The original rift between the two competing Synods in Bulgaria was a result of political dissatisfaction with the Patriarchate of Maxim, which the Applicant Synod (at the time of the split, 40 % of the Orthodox population of Bulgaria) deemed to have lost its legitimacy for conspiring with the communist regime. The Bulgarian government’s heavy handed way of showing favour to Maxim and attempting to end the rift within the Orthodox Church however was a serious violation of European Convention of Human Rights law which governs that the State must remain neutral with regard to denominational splits and that the such divisions are a hallmark of democratic and pluralistic societies and must be respected.

ECLJ will continue to update you on the exciting developments surrounding this case.