Legality

== Legality ==
In the June 1987 case Paul v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld the Witnesses' right to shun those who fail to live by the group's standards and doctrines, upholding the ruling of a lower court. The court stated:Shunning is a practice engaged in by Jehovah's Witnesses pursuant to their interpretation of canonical text, and we are not free to reinterpret that text. ... We find the practice of shunning not to constitute a sufficient threat to the peace, safety, or morality of the community as to warrant state intervention. ... Courts generally do not scrutinize closely the relationship among members (or former members) of a church. Churches are afforded great latitude when they impose discipline on members or former members.In a review of the case, the 1988 Washington University Law Quarterly remarked:The Ninth Circuit's extension of the free exercise clause to include a privilege against tort liability is incorrect. ... In most of the free exercise cases decided by the Supreme Court the government has acted against the religious group, either by imposing criminal sanctions for religious conduct or denying members some benefit because of their religious beliefs. In Paul, however, the religious group acted as the aggressor, violating the plaintiff's right to emotional well-being. ... The Paul decision is an unfortunate expansion of a doctrine intended to protect individual rights.On May 31, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a 9–0 decision saying courts have no jurisdiction to review membership questions of a religious organization. "In the end, religious groups are free to determine their own membership and rules; courts will not intervene in such matters save where it is necessary to resolve an underlying legal dispute," Justice Malcolm Rowe wrote in the decision.
In 2021, Belgium issued a €12,000 fine to Jehovah's Witnesses for discrimination and inciting hatred against people who left the religion. The fine was initially €96,000 before being reduced. Upon appeal by Jehovah's Witnesses, the fine was acquitted.
In 2022, a court case filed by a disfellowshipped woman was subjected to judicial review by the Supreme Court of Norway. Jehovah's Witnesses were denied funding as a religious community for 2021. A counterlawsuit was launched by Jehovah's Witnesses.
Category:Congregational Discipline
Category:Legality