Commentary to the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 17 December 2020, Centraal Israelitisch Consistorie van Belgie and Others, Case C-336/19

A decree of the Flemish Region provided for the use of reversible stunning as regards ritual slaughter. The decree was challenged by several Jewish and Muslim associations, claiming that it breached the Council Regulation No 1099/2009. In this framework, the Belgian court made a reference to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling regarding the interpretation of this regulation. In the commented case the CJEU sought a balance between the protection of animal welfare, as set out in Article 13 TFEU and freedom of religion, as guaranteed by Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. It ruled that Regulation No 1099/2009 does not preclude legis-lation of a Member State which requires, in the context of ritual slaughter, a reversible stunning procedure. The commentary discusses doubts about the motives of the CJEU's ruling, in particu-lar relating to unjustified prioritisation of animal welfare over freedom of religion, and concludes that the decree violates the right to freedom of religion protected by the Charter.