Protecting freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief: Strasbourg or Luxembourg?

Persons who want to manifest their religion through the wearing of religious symbols but who are prohibited from doing so appear to be unlikely to be successful in challenging these prohibitions under Articles 9 or 14 ECHR before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, although very recent case law might tentatively suggest a shift in this approach. This article gives an overview of this case law, including the recent judgment in Eweida and others v the United Kingdom, and this is followed by an analysis of a number of arguments which suggest that a challenge to bans on the wearing of religious symbols would have more chance of being successful in the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg