Readers with long memories may recall the judgment in Schüth v Germany [2010] ECHR (No. 1620/03). The claimant, a Roman Catholic parish and deanery organist and choirmaster, had left his wife and settled with a new partner with whom he had a child. He was dismissed in 1998 on the grounds that his functions were so closely connected to the proclamatory mission of the Church that the parish could not continue employing him without losing credibility. He sued unsuccessfully for wrongful dismissal in the domestic courts and his constitutional challenge was rejected by the Federal Constitutional Court.

In 2003, he took his case to Strasbourg, Continue reading →