The path to full freedom of association in France was long and not easy. What was achieved there has inspired scholars of the Japanese Constitution.
The associations’ right to exist and operate as legal persons is a fundamental, universal right. The Japanese Constitution also recognizes it.
A leading Japanese Constitutional Law scholar offers a critical analysis of the High Court decision.
Why the dissolution of the Family Federation raises constitutional alarms.
Germany’s quiet retreat from a thirty-year surveillance practice marks a return to legal fairness after a policy that caused stigma rather than security.
Campaigns targeting “cults” for their leaders’ real or alleged wrongdoings cause massive unnecessary and innocent suffering.
Power and legitimacy determine how much influence an accusation holds. Groups labeled as “cults” are seldom given fair treatment.
In addition to ready-made stories for sale, the media can also produce scripts for more aggressive forms of state control.
When leaders of religious minorities are accused of sexual crimes, media narratives can quickly mark the entire collective as either accomplices or victims.
The public French broadcaster treated theology as a subject of ridicule and excluded Scientologists and independent experts from its show.