Good Friday in Carinthia: Ban remains despite the VfGH decision!

Good Friday in Carinthia: Ban remains despite the VfGH decision!

Vienna, Österreich - on Good Friday, April 18, 2025, a controversial ban on event is undergoing debate in Carinthia. The Constitutional Court (VfGH) has decided that the existing ban is expected to be lifted. This decision follows a review of the legal determination, which is considered unconstitutional because it violates the principle of equality. A Good Friday concert in Villach in 2023, which was punished for the organizer with a fine of 400 euros, was the trigger for this exam. [vienna.at] (https://www.vienna.at/kaerntner-event-berbot-am-karfreit-soll-soll- remnants/9346598) reports that the Kärntner Övp still plans to maintain the ban and to work on a "constitutional succession".

The deputy governor Martin Gruber from the ÖVP has described the decision of the VfGH as a "unchristian gift" and is determined to use all legal means to preserve the ban. This position is questioned by the SPÖ, the coalition partner of the ÖVP. According to the SPÖ, no constitutional proposal from the ÖVP has been available. In addition, the community of interests of cultural initiatives in Carinthia/Koroška (IG Kikk) consider that a new ban could be introduced "via the back door". It demands a real equality of freedom of events in the law.

Legal framework of the practice of religion

Religious freedom is legally protected in Austria, which includes individual rights such as freedom of faith and religion as well as corporate rights for churches and religious societies. Every person aged 14 and over has the right to freely choose the creed of religion, and authorities are obliged to protect this election. This means that people have the right to choose or change their belonging to a church or religious community, as well as the freedom, nobody belonging. The right to practice of religion can be done publicly or privately and includes services, lessons and the attention of religious customs. Oesterreich.gv.at emphasizes that all citizens, regardless of their confidence of religion, enjoy the same bourgeois and political rights.

The Constitutional Court states in its decisions that the ban on the event not only violates fundamental rights, but also in particular also against the freedom of art and freedom of work. This has a central impact on the cultural landscape of Carinthia and raises questions about the future handling of religious and cultural events.