“As i have commanded thee”: Flemish decrees and CJEU jurisprudence put religious slaughter under the knife

The Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU’s) recent decision in Centraal Israelitisch Consistorie van Belgie v Vlaamse Regering (C-336/19) upheld the Flemish Government’s total ban on un-stunned slaughter as compatible with the provisions of Regulation 1099/2009, which generally prohibit un-stunned slaughter, but allow a derogation in the interest of religious freedom. In this analysis, it is argued that, on a variety of dimensions, the CJEU’s analysis of the provisions of the Regulation is ultimately deficient (and thus, the conflicting Opinion of the Advocate General is to be preferred), because it fails to either properly implement the will of the EU legislature, safeguard the rights of religious minorities, or apply the tests set out both in primary legislation and Strasbourg jurisprudence.