Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel The judiciary can play an important role in ensuring that the right to freedom of religion and belief is afforded to armed forces personnel. Equally, the courts will then evaluate, in an objective and independent manner, where military requirements justify the restriction of individual rights. Additionally, religious counsellors or other representatives may be approached to help reach accommodations in individual cases (see Box 9.5). Box 9.2: National courts’ protection of freedom of religion or belief of service personnel Religious holidays and diet: The Netherlands330 In 1990, the Central Appeals Tribunal decided that Article 6 of the Constitution required facilities to be created for observing Ramadan, which would impact working hours and lead to occasional exemptions from service duties.331 In a second decision, in 1991, the Central Appeals Tribunal found that a Navy corporal had been discriminated against because of the failure to compensate him for the additional costs of preparing kosher food to meet his religious dietary requirements.332 Non-participation in religious ceremonies: Canada and Spain The Canadian courts have concluded that requiring a non-believing serviceman to remove his headdress during prayers at a parade violated the right to freedom of religion under section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights, stating: “The fact that the practice of pronouncing prayers at parades […] has been hallowed by a tradition of many years in the military […] cannot justify a breach of the appellant’s Charter rights.”333 The Spanish Constitutional Court also ruled that orders to participate in a religious ceremony violate the constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.334 Armed forces that fail to take steps to accommodate religious practice will effectively deter religious minorities from enlisting in the regular forces, so that they forfeit the opportunity to discharge civic obligations, with a resulting loss of an available pool of 146 330 Leonhard Besselink, “Military Law in the Netherlands”, in Nolte, op. cit., note 8, pp. 594-595. 331 Central Appeals Tribunal (Centrale Raad van Beroep), 25 October 1990, Tijdschrift voor Ambtenarenrecht, p. 245. 332 Central Appeals Tribunal (Centrale Raad van Beroep), 14 March 1991, Tijdschrift voor Ambtenarenrecht, p. 105. 333 Scott v. R [2004] 123 CRR (2d) 371, para. 8. See also Commodore Royal Bahamas Defence Force and others v. Laramore [2017] UKPC 13 (Judicial Committee of the Privy Council), where the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the final court of appeal for the Bahamas) found that a soldier who had converted to Islam was entitled not to observe the mark of respect (an order to remove caps during prayers) during a parade incorporating elements of Christian worship. 334 Spanish Constitutional Court, Judgment No. 177/1996, 11 November 1996, Boletín Oficial del Estado, No. 303, 17 December 1996, http://hj.tribunalconstitucional.es/en/Resolucion/Show/3229.