wfn.org | Adventists Take School Battle to European Court

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

February 12, 1999
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Adventists Take School Battle to European Court of 
Human Rights

Luxembourg.[APD] Two Seventh-day Adventist families 
began proceedings at the European Court of Human 
Rights following the refusal of the Luxembourg 
school system to allow their children to observe 
the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday).

Until the 1990's, Adventists had arranged permission 
for their children to be absent from school on 
Saturday, reports Jacques Trujillo, religious liberty 
director for the Adventist Church in France, Belgium 
and Luxembourg.

"However, since 1993, the Luxembourg authorities 
consider that any such exceptions to school 
requirements cause interruptions to the running of the 
school system," says Trujillo.

After pursuing the case through tribunals in 
Luxembourg, the matter was brought before the European 
Court last December. While accepting the need for 
regulations governing school attendance, the families 
appeal to their religious convictions and the 
internationally-recognised human right to observe the 
day of worship of their choice. The case highlights a 
discriminatory situation against a religious minority, 
which needs to be resolved, as is the case in most 
parts of the world, reports Trujillo.

"Adventists are not seeking to upset the school 
routine or to increase administrative costs," says 
Trujillo. "They are asking for the same right given to 
majority religions of recognising their choice of the 
day of worship. It is unacceptable to think that 
religious liberty is a question of numbers of members 
or that respect for difference only operates when 
there are no differences." 

In the constitutional monarchy of Luxembourg 95 per 
cent of the population of 414.000 are Roman Catholic 
Christians. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a 
membership of 150, including 59 baptised adults. 
[99/03/03]