Animal welfare trumping religious freedom in the context of ritual slaughter: The CJEU’s judgment Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België and Others

In the Grand Chamber’s judgment in Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België and Others (C-336/19), the Court of Justice (the ‘Court’ or CJEU) held that EU law does not preclude Member States from requiring the use, in the context of ritual slaughter, of a reversible stunning procedure which cannot cause the animal’s death. The case, which was referred by the Belgian Constitutional Court (see the order here), offers some food for thought on the complex balancing between animal welfare and religious freedom, as well as on the scope of application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (the ‘Charter’) and its relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).