A recent decision by the Italian Supreme Court (C. of Cassation, I, n. 24084/2017) has sparked a new strand of discussion on the relationship between liberty of religion, security, democracy, and cultural integration. The Court held an Indian national liable for criminal offence for carrying in his belt a Kirpan, the sacred cutter of Sikhism. Much criticism has attracted the reference in the decision to the “values of Western world” which an immigrant would be obliged to comply with. If multi-ethnicity is a necessity, the Court purports, this does not imply that the Constitutions welcomes 'cultural archipelagos'. This intimation of 'values' as a sort of overarching constitutional provisions is ambiguous to say the least. It invites, anyhow, a new reflection on what sort of constitutional 'principles' European societies share regarding citizenship, pointing either at one that ends up hinging on the opposition majority/minority or at a truly intercultural one
We look forward to welcoming you on July 3-5, 2023 for our Annual Conference entitled "Islands and Ocean: Public Law in a Plural World." The conference will take place at the Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand.
Call For Papers and Panels