European Rights Convention Successfully Invoked by Jewish Claimant

The European Convention on the Rights of Man was successfully invoked here by a Jewish claimant who had been denied unemployment insurance because his religious convictions forbade him to appear at the unemployment office on Saturday, as required by the local regulations. The regulations require an unemployed person seeking benefits to report to the labor office daily, Monday through Saturday. The claimant told the court he appeared Mondays through Fridays but could not appear on the Sabbath. He charged that he was being discriminated against on religious grounds.

The court ruled in the claimant’s favor, citing Article 9 of the Convention which states that “freedom to practice a religion cannot be subjected to any restrictions other than those necessitated by public order and public security.” The ruling was considered a precedent holding in all other countries signatory to the convention.