Source: http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/eu/cases/ECHR/1993/20.html&query=kokkinakis&method=boolean
Timestamp: 2019-10-15 22:37:26
Document Index: 79047726

Matched Legal Cases: ['art. 32', 'art. 47', 'art. 25', 'art. 43', 'in fine', 'art. 43', 'in fine', 'art. 7', 'art. 9', 'art. 10', 'art. 5', 'art. 6', 'art. 6', 'art. 5', 'art. 6', 'art. 31', 'art. 7', 'art. 9', 'art. 10', 'art. 14', 'art. 9', 'art. 9', 'art. 9', 'art. 9', 'art. 9', 'art. 8', 'art. 10', 'art, 11', 'art. 8', 'art. 10', 'art. 11', 'art. 9', 'art. 9', 'art. 9', 'art. 7', 'art. 9', 'art. 9', 'art. 9', 'art. 9', 'art. 7', 'art. 7', 'art. 7', 'art. 10', 'art. 9', 'art. 14', 'art. 7', 'art. 9']

You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> KOKKINAKIS v. GREECE - 14307/88 - Chamber Judgment [1993] ECHR 20 (25 May 1993)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1993/20.html
Cite as: 17 EHRR 397, (1994) 17 EHRR 397, [1993] ECHR 20
The case was referred to the Court by the European Commission of Human Rights ("the Commission") on 21 February 1992, within the three-month period laid down in Article 32 para. 1 and Article 47 (art. 32-1, art. 47) of the Convention. It originated in an application (no. 14307/88) against the Hellenic Republic lodged with the Commission under Article 25 (art. 25) by a Greek national, Mr Minos Kokkinakis , on 22 August 1988.
The Chamber to be constituted included ex officio Mr N. Valticos, the elected judge of Greek nationality (Article 43 of the Convention) (art. 43), and Mr R. Ryssdal, the President of the Court (Rule 21 para. 3 (b)). On 27 February 1992, in the presence of the Registrar, the President drew by lot the names of the other seven members, namely Mr R. Bernhardt, Mr L.-E. Pettiti, Mr J. De Meyer, Mr S.K. Martens, Mr I. Foighel, Mr A.N. Loizou and Mr M.A. Lopes Rocha (Article 43 in fine of the Convention and Rule 21 para. 4) (art. 43).
Mr Ryssdal assumed the office of President of the Chamber (Rule 21 para. 5) and, through the Registrar, consulted the Agent of the Greek Government ("the Government"), the Delegate of the Commission and the applicant’s lawyer on the organisation of the proceedings (Rules 37 para. 1 and 38). Pursuant to the order made in consequence, the Registrar received the applicant’s and the Government’s memorials on 12 August 1992. On 17 September the Secretary to the Commission informed the Registrar that the Delegate would submit his observations at the hearing.
In accordance with the President’s decision, the hearing took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 25 November 1992. The Court had held a preparatory meeting beforehand.
Mr Minos Kokkinakis , a retired businessman of Greek nationality, was born into an Orthodox family at Sitia (Crete) in 1919. After becoming a Jehovah’s Witness in 1936, he was arrested more than sixty times for proselytism. He was also interned and imprisoned on several occasions.
The applicant and his wife were prosecuted under section 4 of Law no. 1363/1938 making proselytism an offence (see paragraph 16 below) and were committed for trial at the Lasithi Criminal Court (trimeles plimmeliodikio), which heard the case on 20 March 1986.
After dismissing an objection that section 4 of that Law was unconstitutional, the Criminal Court heard evidence from Mr and Mrs Kyriakaki, a defence witness and the two defendants and gave judgment on the same day:
Mr and Mrs Kokkinakis appealed against this judgment to the Crete Court of Appeal (Efetio). The Court of Appeal quashed Mrs Kokkinakis ’s conviction and upheld her husband’s but reduced his prison sentence to three months and converted it into a pecuniary penalty of 400 drachmas per day. The following reasons were given for its judgment, which was delivered on 17 March 1987:
Mr Kokkinakis appealed on points of law. He maintained, inter alia, that the provisions of Law no. 1363/1938 contravened Article 13 of the Constitution (see paragraph 13 below).
The Court of Cassation (Arios Pagos) dismissed the appeal on 22 April 1988. It rejected the plea of unconstitutionality for the following reasons:
The Christian Eastern Orthodox Church, which during nearly four centuries of foreign occupation symbolised the maintenance of Greek culture and the Greek language, took an active part in the Greek people’s struggle for emancipation, to such an extent that Hellenism is to some extent identified with the Orthodox faith.
Under the reign of Otto I (1832-62), the Orthodox Church, which had long complained of a Bible society’s propaganda directed at young Orthodox schoolchildren on behalf of the Evangelical Church, managed to get a clause added to the first Constitution (1844) forbidding "proselytism and any other action against the dominant religion". The Constitutions of 1864, 1911 and 1952 reproduced the same clause. The 1975 Constitution prohibits proselytism in general (Article 13 para. 2 in fine - see paragraph 13 above): the ban covers all "known religions", meaning those whose doctrines are not apocryphal and in which no secret initiation is required of neophytes.
During the dictatorship of Metaxas (1936-40) proselytism was made a criminal offence for the first time by section 4 of Law (anagastikos nomos) no. 1363/1938. The following year that section was amended by section 2 of Law no. 1672/1939, in which the meaning of the term "proselytism" was clarified:
In a judgment numbered 2276/1953 a full court of the Supreme Administrative Court (Symvoulio tis Epikratias) gave the following definition of proselytism:
The Greek courts have held that persons were guilty of proselytism who had: likened the saints to "figures adorning the wall", St Gerasimos to "a body stuffed with cotton" and the Church to "a theatre, a market, a cinema"; preached, while displaying a painting showing a crowd of wretched people in rags, that "such are all those who do not embrace my faith" (Court of Cassation, judgment no. 271/1932, Themis XVII, p. 19); promised Orthodox refugees housing on specially favourable terms if they adhered to the Uniate faith (Court of Appeal of the Aegean, judgment no. 2950/1930, Themis B, p. 103); offered a scholarship for study abroad (Court of Cassation, judgment no. 2276/1953); sent Orthodox priests booklets with the recommendation that they should study them and apply their content (Court of Cassation, judgment no. 59/1956, Nomiko Vima, 1956, no. 4, p. 736); distributed "so-called religious" books and booklets free to "illiterate peasants" or to "young schoolchildren" (Court of Cassation, judgment no. 201/1961, Criminal Annals XI, p. 472); or promised a young seamstress an improvement in her position if she left the Orthodox Church, whose priests were alleged to be "exploiters of society" (Court of Cassation, judgment no. 498/1961, Criminal Annals XII, p. 212).
Until 1975 the Court of Cassation held that the list in section 4 was not exhaustive. In a judgment numbered 997/1975 (Criminal Annals XXVI, p. 380) it added the following clarification:
More recently courts have convicted Jehovah’s Witnesses for professing the sect’s doctrine "importunately" and accusing the Orthodox Church of being a "source of suffering for the world" (Salonika Court of Appeal, judgment no. 2567/1988); for entering other people’s homes in the guise of Christians wishing to spread the New Testament (Florina Court of First Instance, judgment no. 128/1989); and for attempting to give books and booklets to an Orthodox priest at the wheel of his car after stopping him (Lasithi Court of First Instance, judgment no. 357/1990).
After the revision of the Constitution in 1975, the Jehovah’s Witnesses brought legal proceedings to challenge the constitutionality of section 4 of Law no. 1363/1938. They complained that the description of the offence was vague, but above all they objected to the actual title of the Law, which indicated that the Law was designed to preserve Articles 1 and 2 of the Constitution in force at the time (the 1911 Constitution - see paragraph 12 above), which prohibited proselytism directed against the dominant religion. In the current Constitution this prohibition is extended to all religions and furthermore is no longer included in the chapter concerning religion but in the one dealing with civil and social rights, and more particularly in Article 13, which guarantees freedom of conscience in religious matters.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses movement appeared in Greece at the beginning of the twentieth century. Estimates of its membership today vary between 25,000 and 70,000. Members belong to one of 338 congregations, the first of which was formed in Athens in 1922.
Since the revision of the Constitution in 1975 the Supreme Administrative Court has held on several occasions that the Jehovah’s Witnesses come within the definition of a "known religion" (judgments nos. 2105 and 2106/1975, 4635/1977, 2484/1980, 4620/1985, 790 and 3533/1986 and 3601/1990). Some first-instance courts, however, continue to rule to the contrary (Heraklion Court of First Instance, judgments nos. 272/1984 and 87/1986). In 1986 the Supreme Administrative Court held (in judgment no. 3533/1986) that a ministerial decision refusing the appointment of a Jehovah’s Witness as a literature teacher was contrary to freedom of conscience in religious matters and hence to the Greek Constitution.
According to statistics provided by the applicant, 4,400 Jehovah’s Witnesses were arrested between 1975 (when democracy was restored) and 1992, and 1,233 of these were committed for trial and 208 convicted. Earlier, several Jehovah’s Witnesses had been convicted under Law no. 117/1936 for the prevention of communism and its effects and Law no. 1075/1938 on preserving the social order.
Mr Kokkinakis applied to the Commission on 22 August 1988. He claimed that his conviction for proselytism was in breach of the rights secured in Articles 7, 9 and 10 (art. 7, art. 9, art. 10) of the Convention. He also relied on Article 5 para. 1 and Article 6 paras. 1 and 2 (art. 5-1, art. 6-1, art. 6-2).
The Commission declared the application (no. 14307/88) admissible on 7 December 1990 except for the complaints based on Articles 5 and 6 (art. 5, art. 6), which it declared inadmissible as being manifestly ill-founded. In its report of 3 December 1991 (made under Article 31) (art. 31), the Commission expressed the opinion that
Mr Kokkinakis complained of his conviction for proselytism; he considered it contrary to Articles 7, 9 and 10 (art. 7, art. 9, art. 10) of the Convention, and to Article 14 taken together with Article 9 (art. 14+9).
The applicant’s complaints mainly concerned a restriction on the exercise of his freedom of religion. The Court will accordingly begin by looking at the issues relating to Article 9 (art. 9), which provides:
The applicant did not only challenge what he claimed to be the wrongful application to him of section 4 of Law no. 1363/1938. His submission concentrated on the broader problem of whether that enactment was compatible with the right enshrined in Article 9 (art. 9) of the Convention, which, he argued, having been part of Greek law since 1953, took precedence under the Constitution over any contrary statute. He pointed to the logical and legal difficulty of drawing any even remotely clear dividing-line between proselytism and freedom to change one’s religion or belief and, either alone or in community with others, in public and in private, to manifest it, which encompassed all forms of teaching, publication and preaching between people.
In the Government’s submission, there was freedom to practise all religions in Greece; religious adherents enjoyed the right both to express their beliefs freely and to try to influence the beliefs of others, Christian witness being a duty of all Churches and all Christians. There was, however, a radical difference between bearing witness and "proselytism that is not respectable", the kind that consists in using deceitful, unworthy and immoral means, such as exploiting the destitution, low intellect and inexperience of one’s fellow beings. Section 4 prohibited this kind of proselytism - the "misplaced" proselytism to which the European Court referred in its Kjeldsen, Busk Madsen and Pedersen v. Denmark judgment of 7 December 1976 (Series A no. 23, p. 28, para. 54) - and not straightforward religious teaching. Furthermore, it was precisely this definition of proselytism that had been adopted by the Greek courts.
As enshrined in Article 9 (art. 9), freedom of thought, conscience and religion is one of the foundations of a "democratic society" within the meaning of the Convention. It is, in its religious dimension, one of the most vital elements that go to make up the identity of believers and their conception of life, but it is also a precious asset for atheists, agnostics, sceptics and the unconcerned. The pluralism indissociable from a democratic society, which has been dearly won over the centuries, depends on it.
The requirements of Article 9 (art. 9) are reflected in the Greek Constitution in so far as Article 13 of the latter declares that freedom of conscience in religious matters is inviolable and that there shall be freedom to practise any known religion (see paragraph 13 above). Jehovah’s Witnesses accordingly enjoy both the status of a "known religion" and the advantages flowing from that as regards observance (see paragraphs 22-23 above).
The fundamental nature of the rights guaranteed in Article 9 para. 1 (art. 9-1) is also reflected in the wording of the paragraph providing for limitations on them. Unlike the second paragraphs of Articles 8, 10 and 11 (art. 8-2, art. 10-2, art, 11-2) which cover all the rights mentioned in the first paragraphs of those Articles (art. 8-1, art. 10-1, art. 11-1), that of Article 9 (art. 9-1) refers only to "freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief". In so doing, it recognises that in democratic societies, in which several religions coexist within one and the same population, it may be necessary to place restrictions on this freedom in order to reconcile the interests of the various groups and ensure that everyone’s beliefs are respected.
According to the Government, such restrictions were to be found in the Greek legal system. Article 13 of the 1975 Constitution forbade proselytism in respect of all religions without distinction; and section 4 of Law no. 1363/1938, which attached a criminal penalty to this prohibition, had been upheld by several successive democratic governments notwithstanding its historical and political origins. The sole aim of section 4 was to protect the beliefs of others from activities which undermined their dignity and personality.
The Court will confine its attention as far as possible to the issue raised by the specific case before it. It must nevertheless look at the foregoing provisions, since the action complained of by the applicant arose from the application of them (see, mutatis mutandis, the de Geouffre de la Pradelle v. France judgment of 16 December 1992, Series A no. 253-B, p. 42, para. 31).
The sentence passed by the Lasithi Criminal Court and subsequently reduced by the Crete Court of Appeal (see paragraphs 9-10 above) amounts to an interference with the exercise of Mr Kokkinakis ’s right to "freedom to manifest [his] religion or belief". Such an interference is contrary to Article 9 (art. 9) unless it is "prescribed by law", directed at one or more of the legitimate aims in paragraph 2 (art. 9-2) and "necessary in a democratic society" for achieving them.
The applicant said that his submissions relating to Article 7 (art. 7) also applied to the phrase "prescribed by law". The Court will therefore examine them from this point of view.
Mr Kokkinakis impugned the very wording of section 4 of Law no. 1363/1938. He criticised the absence of any description of the "objective substance" of the offence of proselytism. He thought this deliberate, as it would tend to make it possible for any kind of religious conversation or communication to be caught by the provision. He referred to the risk of "extendibility" by the police and often by the courts too of the vague terms of the section, such as "in particular" and "indirect attempt" to intrude on the religious beliefs of others. Punishing a non-Orthodox Christian even when he was offering "moral support or material assistance" was tantamount to punishing an act that any religion would prescribe and that the Criminal Code required in certain emergencies. Law no. 1672/1939 (see paragraph 16 above) had, without more, stripped the initial wording of section 4 of its "repetitive verbiage"; it had retained all the "extendible, catch-all" expressions, merely using a more concise but equally "pedantic" style designed to ensure that non-Orthodox Christians were permanently gagged. Consequently, no citizen could regulate his conduct on the basis of this enactment.
The Government, on the other hand, maintained that section 4 defined proselytism precisely and specifically; it listed all the ingredients of the offence. The use of the adverbial phrase "in particular" was of no importance, as it related only to the means by which the offence could be committed; indicative lists of this kind were, moreover, commonly included in criminal statutes.
The Court has already noted that the wording of many statutes is not absolutely precise. The need to avoid excessive rigidity and to keep pace with changing circumstances means that many laws are inevitably couched in terms which, to a greater or lesser extent, are vague (see, for example and mutatis mutandis, the Müller and Others v. Switzerland judgment of 24 May 1988, Series A no. 133, p. 20, para. 29). Criminal-law provisions on proselytism fall within this category. The interpretation and application of such enactments depend on practice.
The measure complained of was therefore "prescribed by law" within the meaning of Article 9 para. 2 (art. 9-2) of the Convention.
The Government contended that a democratic State had to ensure the peaceful enjoyment of the personal freedoms of all those living on its territory. If, in particular, it was not vigilant to protect a person’s religious beliefs and dignity from attempts to influence them by immoral and deceitful means, Article 9 para. 2 (art. 9-2) would in practice be rendered wholly nugatory.
In the applicant’s submission, religion was part of the "constantly renewable flow of human thought" and it was impossible to conceive of its being excluded from public debate. A fair balance of personal rights made it necessary to accept that others’ thought should be subject to a minimum of influence, otherwise the result would be a "strange society of silent animals that [would] think but ... not express themselves, that [would] talk but ... not communicate, and that [would] exist but ... not coexist".
Having regard to the circumstances of the case and the actual terms of the relevant courts’ decisions, the Court considers that the impugned measure was in pursuit of a legitimate aim under Article 9 para. 2 (art. 9-2), namely the protection of the rights and freedoms of others, relied on by the Government.
Mr Kokkinakis did not consider it necessary in a democratic society to prohibit a fellow citizen’s right to speak when he came to discuss religion with his neighbour. He was curious to know how a discourse delivered with conviction and based on holy books common to all Christians could infringe the rights of others. Mrs Kyriakaki was an experienced adult woman with intellectual abilities; it was not possible, without flouting fundamental human rights, to make it a criminal offence for a Jehovah’s Witness to have a conversation with a cantor’s wife. Moreover, the Crete Court of Appeal, although the facts before it were precise and absolutely clear, had not managed to determine the direct or indirect nature of the applicant’s attempt to intrude on the complainant’s religious beliefs; its reasoning showed that it had convicted the applicant "not for something he had done but for what he was".
The Government maintained, on the contrary, that the Greek courts had based themselves on plain facts which amounted to the offence of proselytism: Mr Kokkinakis ’s insistence on entering Mrs Kyriakaki’s home on a false pretext; the way in which he had approached her in order to gain her trust; and his "skilful" analysis of the Holy Scriptures calculated to "delude" the complainant, who did not possess any "adequate grounding in doctrine" (see paragraphs 9-10 above). They pointed out that if the State remained indifferent to attacks on freedom of religious belief, major unrest would be caused that would probably disturb the social peace.
The Court has consistently held that a certain margin of appreciation is to be left to the Contracting States in assessing the existence and extent of the necessity of an interference, but this margin is subject to European supervision, embracing both the legislation and the decisions applying it, even those given by an independent court. The Court’s task is to determine whether the measures taken at national level were justified in principle and proportionate.
First of all, a distinction has to be made between bearing Christian witness and improper proselytism. The former corresponds to true evangelism, which a report drawn up in 1956 under the auspices of the World Council of Churches describes as an essential mission and a responsibility of every Christian and every Church. The latter represents a corruption or deformation of it. It may, according to the same report, take the form of activities offering material or social advantages with a view to gaining new members for a Church or exerting improper pressure on people in distress or in need; it may even entail the use of violence or brainwashing; more generally, it is not compatible with respect for the freedom of thought, conscience and religion of others.
The Court notes, however, that in their reasoning the Greek courts established the applicant’s liability by merely reproducing the wording of section 4 and did not sufficiently specify in what way the accused had attempted to convince his neighbour by improper means. None of the facts they set out warrants that finding.
In conclusion, there has been a breach of Article 9 (art. 9) of the Convention.
Mr Kokkinakis also relied on Article 7 (art. 7), which provides:
The Court points out that Article 7 para. 1 (art. 7-1) of the Convention is not confined to prohibiting the retrospective application of the criminal law to an accused’s disadvantage. It also embodies, more generally, the principle that only the law can define a crime and prescribe a penalty (nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege) and the principle that the criminal law must not be extensively construed to an accused’s detriment, for instance by analogy; it follows from this that an offence must be clearly defined in law. This condition is satisfied where the individual can know from the wording of the relevant provision and, if need be, with the assistance of the courts’ interpretation of it, what acts and omissions will make him liable.
In conclusion, there has been no breach of Article 7 (art. 7) of the Convention.
The applicant further relied on his freedom of expression, as secured in Article 10 (art. 10). His conviction, he said, struck not only at the dissemination of his religious opinions but also at that of general socio-philosophical opinions, since the Crete Court of Appeal had noted that he had talked to Mrs Kyriakaki about the politician Olof Palme and had expounded pacifist views.
Having regard to its decision on Article 9 (art. 9) (see paragraph 50 above), the Court, like the Commission, considers it unnecessary to examine this complaint.
In his memorial of 5 August 1992 the applicant also claimed to be the victim of discrimination contrary to Article 14 taken together with Article 9 (art. 14+9). He submitted that discrimination arose from the defects in section 4 of Law no. 1363/1938 or from the use made of it.
Although not raised before the Commission, this complaint relates to the same facts as do those made under Articles 7 and 9 (art. 7, art. 9); having regard to the conclusion in paragraph 50 above, however, the Court holds that it is unnecessary to deal with it.
At the hearing the applicant sought, firstly, compensation in the amount of 500,000 drachmas (GRD) for non-pecuniary damage.
For costs and expenses relating to the proceedings in Greece and before the Convention institutions Mr Kokkinakis sought the sum of GRD 2,789,500, of which he provided particulars.