Type: Judgment

Authority: European Authorities: European Court of human rights

Date: 01/11/2006

Subject: The European Court of Human Rights has established the positive and negative meaning of the right to freedom of association, thus giving a true interpretation of art. 11 of the Convention. The case dealt with the opposition, by the applicants, to those contractual clauses (closed shop agreements) which provide for a kind of " mandatory joining and permanence" to unions or guilds, allowing employers to recruit only those workers who have joined and continue to take part in them. Therefore the clause imposed a compulsory enrollment in order to be able to access a specific job/profession. The Court has observed that neither a compulsory enrollment, nor the denial of free withdrawal can be imposed, since these two cases would go against the freedom of association according to art. 11 of the Convention.

Parties: Sorensen and Rasmussen v. Denmark

Original language: English

Classification: Art. 12 Freedom of assembly - Freedom of association - Art. 53 Level of protection

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Notices: Effectiveness of the Charter
To sustain its decision, the European Court of Human Rights expressly refers to articles 12 and 53 of the Charter of Nice.