Herrmann v. Germany (no. 9300/07) – Grand Chamber Hearing held 30 November 2011. [Webcast] The applicant, Günter Herrmann, is a German national who was born in 1955 and lives in Stutensee (Germany). As the owner of two landholdings in Rhineland-Palatinate which are smaller than 75 hectares, he is automatically a member of the Langsur hunting association under German Federal Hunting Law (Bundesjagdgesetz). He complains about being obliged to tolerate the hunt on his premises even though he is opposed to hunting on moral grounds. He relies on Articles 9 (freedom of thought conscience and religion), 11 (freedom of assembly and association), 14 (prohibition of discrimination) and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property). In a judgment of 20 January 2011, the Court held by six votes to one that there has been no violation of Article 9 in this case.

Fernández Martínez v. Spain (no. 56030/07) – Chamber Hearing held 24 November 2011.  [Webcast] A married priest, father of five (who has received a papal dispensation relieving him of the obligation of celibacy), was dismissed from employment as a public school teacher and claimed discrimination by magistrates’ religious beliefs and interference with his Articles 9 and 10 rights to freedom of thought and expression. In addition, in his complaint before the Court the applicant relied on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing) as well as Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) combined with Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination), alleging that the non-renewal of his teaching contract because of his connection with the optional celibacy movement and because of a newspaper article amounted to an unjustified intrusion into his privacy.