PANEL: CONFLICTS, EMERGENCY RULES, AND RELIGIOUS MINORITIES
09/07/2025 14:00 - 17:30
HALL: Main Ceremonial Hall

Proponent: Madera A., Medda-Windischer R.

Chair: Cesari J., Madera A.

Speaker: Brylov D., Bunnell A., Elsner R., Kiviorg M., Madera A., Maoz A., Marer A., Medda-Windischer R., Vovk D.

Modern democracies are undergoing unparalleled times. The war in Ukraine, October 7th 2023 and the conflict in Gaza, acted as a stress test for democratic societies, giving rise to political and economic uncertainty, and to decline of public trust. Emergency challenges significantly affected the exercise of fundamental rights, whose protection is grounded in constitutional, supranational and international provisions. The panel aims to examine the interaction between emergency law and religious freedom during conflicts in the European landscape (and beyond). The focus will be on the impact of the emergency rules and policies on religious freedom and their implications for minority groups. As research has shown, emergencies negatively impact the collective dimension of religious freedom, exacerbating the complex dynamics between religious majorities and minorities.
Furthermore, this panel aims to investigate the impact of emergency rules as linked to conflicts on rights of religious minorities and rising discriminations and prejudices against religious groups in times of crisis. Finally, it aims to address future scenarios in Europe (and beyond) for managing religious diversity and implementing the principles of equality and non-discrimination, with a view to enhancing inclusive and anti-discriminatory public policies, and reconciling the protection and promotion of minority groups with the public interest to guarantee public health, security and sustainability.
The panel is open to contributions from different disciplines in a comparative and/or single case perspective.
Keywords: Emergency Rules, Conflicts, Religious Freedom, Religious Minorities

257.1
   
DECOLONIZATION EMERGENCY: UKRAINE'S LEGISLATION BANNING THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND AFFILIATED RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

Vovk D. *

visiting associate professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law - Yeshiva University / associate professor at Yaroslav the Wise National Law University in Ukraine ~ New York ~ United States of America
257.4
   
UKRAINIAN SWING: STATE-CONFESSIONAL POLICY BETWEEN DENOMINATIONALISM AND REPRESSIVE APPROACH

Brylov D. *

Senior Researcher of the A. Krymskiy Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv), Associated Researcher of the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (Berlin) ~ Kvyv ~ Ukraine
257.5
   
OLD AND NEW ANTISEMITISM

Maoz A. *

Tel-Aviv University Law School and the Peres academic Center ~ Tel Aviv ~ Israel
257.6
   
RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AND THE WAR IN UKRAINE: BETWEEN CONFLICT AND PROSPECTS FOR PEACE

Madera A. * [1] , Medda-Windischer R. * [2]

University of Messina ~ Messina ~ Italy [1] , EURAC ~ Bolzano ~ Italy [2]
257.7
   
FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF AND NATIONAL SECURITY: THE IMPACT OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR ON LEGAL DISCOURSE IN THE BALTIC STATES

Kiviorg M. *

Associate Professor in International Law, University of Tartu, School of Law ~ Tartu ~ Estonia
257.8
   
257.10
   
RESTRICTED HOLINESS: NAVIGATING FAITH AND BARRIERS DURING EASTER 2024 IN JERUSALEM

Marer A. *

Master's student in Comparative Religion and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem ~ Jerusalem ~ Israel