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25 July 2025
Issue: 8126 / Categories: Legal News , EU , Animal welfare , Human rights
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NLJ this week: Strasbourg’s silence on ritual slaughter sparks outrage

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The European Court of Human Rights’ 2024 ruling in Executief van de Moslims van België v Belgium upheld a Belgian ban on ritual slaughter without pre-stunning. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC of Middle Temple critiques its judgment

Zellick argues the decision undermines Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects religious practice and observance. The court controversially reinterpreted ‘public morals’ to include animal welfare, allowing the ban despite its impact on Muslim and Jewish communities. Zellick warns this sets a dangerous precedent, diluting the ‘necessity’ test and failing to protect minority rights.

He also criticises the court’s refusal to refer the case to the Grand Chamber, calling it a missed opportunity to address a matter of profound religious and legal significance. The judgment, he argues, reflects judicial underreach and a troubling departure from the Convention’s core purpose: safeguarding fundamental freedoms from majoritarian interference.

Issue: 8126 / Categories: Legal News , EU , Animal welfare , Human rights
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harper James—Lottie Hugo

Harper James—Lottie Hugo

Commercial law firm announces appointment of corporate partner

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joins corporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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