Case 2023

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Due to the current energy crisis, the State of Nova Terra enacted the Saving Energy Act (SEA) allowing municipalities to suspend publicly-financed lighting of buildings and monuments in their communities. Effective November 1, 2022, the SEA entitles municipalities to selectively suspend public lighting of monuments, buildings, places (both public and private). Mindful of its racist and discriminatory past, the Municipality of New Town decided to focus its energy-saving policy on suspending the lighting of discriminatory and racist symbols that witness Nova Terra’s painful past.

This measure impacted religious sites, since New Town regulations have driven the shutdown of lighting on several sites that host religious buildings. Churches’ facades and other religious monuments that portray episodes considered as racist or discriminatory were left in the dark starting on November 30, 2022. Since then, religious congregations and groups have often set up their own systems of lighting to make their sites accessible and safe between sunset and sunrise, for which they are now paying with their own resources. Such is the case of “All Saints” Parish of New Town as the facade of its church displays the bas-relief of Prophet Elija’s killing of pagan priests and the Christian evangelization of American native peoples.

In the European Court of Human Rights

“All Saints” Parish, as a religious association representing its faithful, filed a complaint to the local judge for religious discrimination and asked that the lighting of its church be restored. Under the “Non Discrimination Act” of the State of Terra Nova, no organization, entity, premise, or group may be treated less favorably than others on the basis of belief, faith, culture, or ideology. According to All Saints Parish, the Municipal regulation that suspended the lighting of its Church’s facade was in violation of the “Non Discrimination Act”.

The court of first instance found that the measure of New Town was not discriminatory. On the contrary, in the Court’s view, New Town simply exerted its discretionary power to decide where lighting was strictly necessary also in times of energy shortage, also having regard to the fact that most religious activities take place during the day. The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the court of first instance.

Having exhausted all national remedies, All Saints Parish applied to the European Court of Human Rights, complaining that the State of Nova Terra violated art. 9 of the Convention, taken alone and in conjunction with art. 14. The European Court accepted the request for admission.

 In the U.S. Supreme Court

“All Saints” Parish, as a religious association representing its faithful, filed a complaint in the Federal District Court in the State of Terra Nova arguing that the SEA as implemented violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Non-Discrimination Act of Terra Nova and sought that the lighting of the church be restored. Under Art. 1 of the “Non- Discrimination Act” of the State of Terra Nova, no organization, entity, premise, or group may be treated less favorably than others on the basis of belief, faith, culture, or ideology. According to All Saints Parish, the Municipal regulation that suspended the lighting of its Church’s facade was in violation of the “Non Discrimination Act”.

The Federal District Court granted summary judgment to the Municipality, endorsing New Town’s argument that the “All Saints” Parish carried out the bulk of its religious activities during the day and that no substantial harm to religious activity was suffered by the Parish under the First Amendment or the Non-Discrimination Act. The Parish challenged the court’s decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals, which upheld the District Court’s granting of summary judgment. “All Saints” Parish filed a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. Certiorari was granted on the question whether the SEA as implemented violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Non-Discrimination Act.

N.B.: In this case, the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not apply and there is no state RFRA. The Nova Terra state Supreme Court has not interpreted the Non-Discrimination Act, but has suggested in dicta that it may be interpreted by analogy to the federal RFRA.  

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