Obowiązek równego traktowania nauczycieli religii – przypadek Republiki Włoch
Obligation of Equal Treatment of Religious Teachers. The Case of the Republic of Italy

Summary/Abstract: RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The article presents the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of January 2022 in a case concerning religious teachers in Italy. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The aim of the article is to employ a religion teacher only on the basis of long-term, fixed-term employment contracts, concluded only for a specified period. The main research method used in the article is the dogmatic method. The author analyzes the positions of the parties to the dispute: religious teachers, central public authorities in Italy employing religious teachers, diocesan diocese and the position of the labor court in Naples in the case pending before the Court of Justice of the EU. The method of jurisprudence analysis is widely used. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The article has been divided into five parts, the purpose of which is to familiarize the reader with the issues discussed, preceded by the introduction, as well as substantive considerations concluded with comments enabling the resolution of a legal dispute. RESEARCH RESULTS: The Italian Republic has not introduced measures limiting the maximum duration of employment for religious teachers or the number of renewals of fixed-term employment contracts within the meaning of EU labor law. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: EU law goes against the national regulation of an EU Member State, which excludes teachers of religion in public schools from applying for this job under open-ended contracts. The possession of a document certifying the ability to teach religion is not an objective reason to teach religion solely on the basis of fixed-term contracts. Any legal measures applied in national labor law systems should be without prejudice to the principle of equal treatment of religious teachers teaching this subject in the EU Member States.

• Details
• Contents