Mark Hill

• The 23rd Annual Congress of the European Consortium for Church and State Research took place in Oxford, United Kingdom from 29 September to 2 October 2011. Founded in 1989, the Consortium unites experts in law and religion from Member States of the European Union. The Oxford conference took as its theme Religion and Discrimination Law focusing on the manner in which State governments had sought to implement the non-discrimination policy of the EU by legislation and through courts and tribunals. The proceedings comprise three introductory papers considering the historical, cultural and social background; the prohibition on discrimination, and the exemptions to the general prohibition. This is followed by national reports from twenty-three countries describing the reach of discrimination law in the field of religion. These are supplemented by further papers analysing the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court and the background to EU Directive 2000/78/EC and by some concluding reflections. The proceedings begin with the text of a public lecture given at the opening of the Congress by Sir Nicolas Bratza, President of the European Court of Human Rights on the subject of freedom of religion under Article 9 of the Convention.