Geneva’s total ban on religious services and events has been suspended by the Swiss Constitutional Chamber of the Canton of Geneva.
The court deferred a decision on whether the ban is a violation of the right to freedom of religion after a group of concerned citizens filed a legal challenge against it. While the suspension does not serve as a final ruling, it indicates that the ban is not proportionate and means that religious services and gatherings are now permitted until a final judgment is handed down. The Chamber indicated that the likelihood of the case ultimately succeeding is “high or very high.”
“This ban is a serious violation of the fundamental rights Switzerland is committed to protect in a number of international human rights agreements,” said Jennifer Lea, Legal Counsel for ADF International, a global human rights group with offices in Geneva that supported the case.
“Religious freedom is a fundamental human right and governments seeking to restrict it carry the burden of proving the restriction is truly necessary and that a less restrictive approach would not work. Favouring commercial establishments over religious services is not only discriminatory but ignores the robust protection that exists in national and international law for religious freedom
The Catholic Bishops have appealed to people to “keep Christ at the centre of Christmas this year”.
Nonetheless, in a message at the conclusion of their winter meeting on Wednesday night,
they described it as “impossible” for the usual large numbers to attend Christmas Masses later this month due to Covid-19 and have reminded people that such Masses would be “widely available over webcam”.
They “strongly encourage families to ‘tune in’ from the ‘domestic churches’ of their living rooms and join with those who are gathering in their local churches in welcoming the birth of the Christ-child”.
Christmas was “about more than just one day. Families are welcome to attend Mass at some point during the 12 days from Christmas Eve to Epiphany (January 6th),” they said.
The laws governing maintenance after divorce should drop a presumption of lifelong financial obligation, according to an expert in divorce and family law.
Geoffrey Shannon believes the issue of maintenance now requires a fundamental review, as it is still operating according to laws that date back to 20 years before the 1995 referendum.
“In the context of divorce, what you have is the marriage ceases, but your obligations continue indefinitely,” he says. “No single concept alone can govern the system of maintenance, yet we have a system where the focus is on lifelong spousal maintenance.”
A couple might only be married for four or five years, and have no children, yet the Irish system presumes the possibility of one spouse having a lifelong financial obligation towards the other.
“Really what I am saying is that the payment of maintenance between former spouses should facilitate a smooth transition from dependence to economic independence, ensuring that the dependent spouse is provided for until he or she is self-sufficient.”
Maintenance should be calculated in a way that reflects the duration of the marriage, and the commitments that are required.
Spain is set to become the sixth country in the world to legalise euthanasia.
It is expected that the law will be approved in the first quarter of 2021, despite unanimous opposition from the members of an agency of the Ministry of Health, Social Care and Equality, who declared that “solid health, ethical, legal, economic and social reasons” existed to reject euthanasia and assisted suicide.
A report presented by the Socialist Party’s Justice Committee, which outlines the law, has been approved with 22 votes in favour, although it was opposed by the Partido Popular and Vox, who already presented amendments which were rejected in the Congress of Deputies.
The proposal may be approved as soon as January. It would allow people to be euthanized in their own homes and not only at health centres.
