Article 9 on the European Convention on Human Rights - Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Human Rights Files No. 20) (2005)

Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The protection it affords is of such significance that the judges of the European Court of Human Rights regard it as one of the cornerstones of démocratic society.The freedoms Article 9 guarantees have two essential aspects: internal, covering the freedom to hold convictions and beliefs, and external, covering the freedom to manifest one's convictions and beliefs. The first of these freedoms is absolute, the second relative, but in neither case can their importance be undervalued .