1. The aims of the conference

Some recent and questionable verdicts of the Court of Justice of the European Union has drawn the
attention to the relevance of behaviours and decisions based on religious convictions related to the
employment relationships. For example, it has been discussed if there is a right of the employee to
wear unequivocal symbols indicative of his religious profession – like the veil for women of some
Islamic faiths – and if the employer has the power to take decisions based on his religious beliefs and,
therefore, on the cultural trends of his organization. Some Italian case-law discussed the fairness of
dismissal due to some statements about homosexuality made by teachers working in confessionals
schools. The connotations of contemporary society aggravate the conflicts due to the growing
proximity between people of different cultures and traditions and increase the request of protections
of the individual freedom towards the organizations. These developments let us think that this issue
is going to have a growing importance in the future, involving vivid sensitivities and requesting a
refinement of the theoretical investigation.

2. The conference
The conference will take place on 20th September 2019. It will be composed of two initial relations
made by two scholars of different countries and about six or eight scholars interventions, selected in
the competitive way described above. Each intervention will last about thirty (30) minutes. Then a
debate will follow at the end of each session. The discussions will take place in several sessions (two
or three).

3. The structure of the conference
The seminar will take place on 20th September 2019 and it is addressed to labour law scholars
coming from any country.
Interested scholars must present an abstract by 31th March 2019: the text must be maximum of four
folders length.
The Scientific Committee will evaluate the essays and will communicate his decisions by 30th April
2019.
The definitive text of the essay must arrive by 15th July 2019 and will be published on the website
of the conference. We accept different type of essay, both theoretical and practical, inherent to the
problem from any point of view (a comment to the case-law indications, an analysis of a philosophical
or sociologic nature, empirical evaluations, comparative law remarks, and so on). The essays must be
unpublished and characterized by an effort of original remarks. The length of the final easy should be
about twenty folders, but there are no strict limitations.

4. The submission of the abstract
The abstract can be addressed to the following email address: labourandreligion@unipr.it.
They will be delivered to the Scientific Committee.

5. The publication of the essays
If they wish, the scholars can publish their essay (written in English) on the journal Variazioni su
Temi di Diritto del Lavoro. All the selected essays will be available for the participants, with the
publication on the relative website.

6. The language
The conference will take place in English.

7. The expenses
Participation is free, but the travel and subsistence expenses will be chargeable to the selected
scholars.

8. The Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee will be composed of:
Em. Prof. Antonio Ojeda Avilès, International University of Andalucia
Prof. Josè Antonio Fernandez Avilès, University of Granada
Prof. Catarina de Oliveira Carvalho, Catholic University of Porto
Prof. Valeria Filì, University of Udine
Prof. Alberto Pizzoferrato, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna
Prof. Cristophe Vigneau, University Paris 1, Pantheon – Sorbonne
Prof. Bernd Waas, University of Francoforte

9. The Organizing Committee
Prof. Maria Giovanna Greco, University of Parma
Prof. Antonello Olivieri, University of Foggia
Prof. Susanna Palladini, University of Parma
Prof. Fabio Pantano, University of Parma
Dr. Ilaria Bresciani, University of Marche
Mr. Martino Matarese, University of Pavia