deutsche Fassung hier
Arrrrgh you buccaneers and pirates,
we have done it again. We have gone to war. Again before the European Court of Human Rights, again with strong allies, who not only finance our fight, but have also provided us with a great weapons master in the form of their advisor Dr. Winfried Rath. He equipped our frigate with 196 guns. That's how many attachments the complaint had, with which he wants to help Brother Spaghettus to his ideological headgear. Never were the chances so good as now.
Because I quote now only from the complaint, this is actually also something like a guest contribution from Dr. Rath. For better readability, I have removed references to attachments, etc., as far as possible. :
Statement of the facts
...The complainant is fighting to be allowed to use a passport photo with ideological headgear in his identity card. He is the former chairman and current honorary chairman of the "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Germany e.V." . The association understands itself as Weltanschauungsgemeinschaft. The complainant considers himself obliged by his world view to wear headgear that complies with the rules of the KdFSM. Therefore, he requested that he be allowed to wear his ideological headgear on his picture for a new identity card. The German authorities and courts denied him this right, violating his ideological freedom.....
...In 2006, the registered association under the name "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Germany e.V." was founded in Germany. According to its statutes, the association pursues the promotion of religious purposes in their equal treatment with scientifically oriented worldviews and a special focus on the evolutionary humanism of the Giordano Bruno Foundation (GBS). The term evolutionary humanism refers to a newer, naturalistic current within the humanistic worldviews that sees human beings as part of a comprehensive evolutionary process. It is historically traced back to Julian Huxley, the first Director General of UNESCO, who developed this current and advocated a "scientific religion" without God and without revelation, in which evolution was a universal and all-pervasive process. Evolutionary Humanism, as further developed by the GBS, provides clear answers to the basic existential questions of being human based on scientific knowledge and humanistic values (Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is the meaning of life? What is ethically just?). For further information on the content of evolutionary humanism, I refer to appendices 4, 5 and to the expert opinion of the theologian Daniela Wakonigg (appendix 6). The association of the KdFSM is recognized as non-profit. The number of followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, who call themselves "Pastafari," is estimated at about 20,000 people in Germany, with over 12,750 people following the Facebook presence alone. The members are united not only by their common thinking and value system, but also by common celebrations and rituals, as they are known from religions. As a means of pursuing its goals, the association uses events and participation in public meetings, the provision and distribution of information material, the organization of fairs, and participation in social networks. A broad overview of the association's diverse activities can be found on the Internet (www.pastafari.eu and on the KdFSM Facebook page). ....
...The statutes of the German KdFSM refer specifically to evolutionary humanism. By referring to evolutionary humanism, it gives itself humanistic foundations....
... The German "church" is primarily concerned with equal treatment of religious and scientifically oriented world views, especially evolutionary humanism. The aim is to question intolerant and dogmatic views and actions, and thus to promote the spread of an open and tolerant ethics in the sense of evolutionary humanism, thus to participate in the formation of public opinion and to enrich the public discussion about ideological and value questions in the sense of humanism and enlightenment. One represents a positive world view - the evolutionary humanism - for whose penetration one fights, by as a means the religion satire is used. The world view of the evolutionary humanism is also it, which connects the members of the association. The KdFSM is a nearly perfect conversion of the own world view, by uniting humanistic principles for the life guidance of the members and followers with a religion parody. The specification to the members not to take religious cults seriously, but to align the life after the principles of the evolutionary humanism, connects the renunciation of religious conceptions with a clear life instruction. Consequently, the association by no means represents only a negative, i.e. a God or religion denying world view. Its purpose is by no means to be only a parody of religion. There is a positive content for a common weltanschauliche activity, from which the status of a Weltanschauungsgemeinschaft results. The conviction shared by the members of the complainant influences their way of life and their everyday cultural practice. In their lives, the members are guided by the moral convictions based on the worldview of evolutionary humanism. This can also be seen from the fact that, in addition to the rules of action for the followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in the form of the "Eight I would like best," the ten offerings of evolutionary humanism have the same validity. The complainant tries to live according to these rules in everyday life. He always wears headgear in public that identifies him as a follower and member of the KdFSM. He feels obliged to wear this headgear. In the Gospel of Bobby Henderson, it is already explicitly stated that it shows a lack of respect to spread one's faith without wearing the regalia of the spaghetti monster - the garb of the pirates. Furthermore, the statutes of the KdFSM also dictate that its followers follow the gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to the extent that they indicate their affiliation with Pastafarianism by wearing an eye patch, or pirate headgear such as a tricorn, bandana, pirate scarf, or the like. In fact, the complainant always wears headgear in public that identifies him as a member of the KdFSM. He has a driver's license with a corresponding picture and his pastafarian artist name "Brother Spaghettus" registered in his ID card.....
....Clarifying it is to be pointed out again that the KdFSM understands itself in contrast to other churches of the flying spaghetti monster (from the Netherlands or from Austria, which refer themselves as religious community exclusively to the Pastafaritum) as Weltanschauung and in no case as religious community. The KdFSM essentially invokes evolutionary humanism as its ideological basis. The duality of the foundations of evolutionary humanism in the form of the GBS and the basic features of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as an external form distinguishes the KdFSM considerably and fundamentally from other European forms of Pastafarinism and is unique in the world with this orientation.
Justification
Violation of Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 ECHR
The complainant has been unlawfully denied access to the appeal proceedings before the Higher Administrative Court by the latter not allowing the appeal against the judgment of the Administrative Court (Annex 40). Article 6 (1) sentence 1 ECHR grants effective legal protection. This is impaired if access is unreasonably impeded or if the essence of the right of access is affected. In this case, it is a matter of unreasonable restrictions on access to the court of appeal. Even if the route of an admissions appeal is generally unobjectionable, here there is a restriction that has shortened the appellant's legal path and led to an incorrect decision. The complainant's right to the fullest possible judicial protection against acts of public authority is violated by the denial of effective legal protection.......
Violation of Art. 9 par. 1, 2, Art. 11 ECHR
The complainant belongs to a Weltanschauungsgemeinschaft. German authorities and courts have not granted the status of Weltanschauungsgemeinschaft to the KdFSM. As a result, members are prevented from freely practicing their Weltanschauung. This also includes exercising the right as a member of the Weltanschauungsgemeinschaft to indicate their affiliation on an identity card with a passport photo with headgear and to express their obligation to wear a headgear.......
.....Significance cannot be denied to the KdFSM already because of the number of its members and its followers (on the Internet), but also because it has managed to be present in the media and is even talked about in schools in religious education. The status of a worldview community results from the fact that the KdFSM represents an independent current or denomination of evolutionary humanism (Appendix 6). The humanistic worldview of the KdFSM contains a "statement on the whole of the world" in that it builds on scientific explanations of the origin of the world and demands humanistic principles from its members as basic rules for living together. The fundamentals answer questions about the meaning of life. There is sufficient consensus among the followers about the commonly held worldview. This can be seen from the common activities and the large number of those who follow the KdFSM on the Internet......
Violation of Art. 14 ECHR in conjunction with. Art. 9, 11 ECHR
The authorities and courts refused to recognize the complainant as a Weltanschauungsgemeinschaft. This served as the basis for what was in effect a denial of permission to wear a passport photo with ideological headgear on the photo of the identity card. This discriminates against the complainant. He is deprived of a right to which other members of religious communities are entitled, with the result that he is treated unequally in comparison with them. The discrimination is exacerbated because, according to No. 6 PassVwV, the complainant, in contrast to Muslim women, still has to justify his entitlement to wear an ideological head covering. Such an interference constitutes unequal treatment without objectively justifiable reasons if a reasonable justification is lacking (ECtHR 13.7.2010 - 7205/07 RN 66).Religious communities are allowed to wear their headgear on a passport photo. World views are to be treated equally. No court deals with the content of the worldview of the KdFSM. This discriminates against the complainant who does not receive his passport photo....
Translatet by deepl