Javier Martínez-Torrón
Encyclopedia
Javier Martínez-Torrón (Córdoba, Spain, 1955) has been Professor of Law (Catedrático) at Complutense University, Madrid
(Spain
) since 2000. He obtained his first chair at the University of Granada
in 1993. Doctor utroque iure (of Law
and of Canon Law
). Founder and Director of the Seminar of Comparative Law of the University of Granada (1997–2000). Director of the Seminar of Professors of Church-State Relations of Complutense University (2000-). Visiting professor and researcher in numerous Universities of Spain, Europe, North-America, and Latin-America (among them Cambridge
, Chicago
, Columbia
, Berkeley
, Harvard, Ottawa
, Freiburg
(Germany) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México - UNAM). He is also, since 2001, part-time Professor of the Saint Louis University
Law School (Comparative Law, Summer Law Courses).
Professor Martínez-Torrón is Vice-President of the Section of Canon Law and Church-State Relations of the Spanish Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation (1994). Member of the OSCE/ODIHR Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion of Belief (2005). Member of the Advisory Commission on Religious Freedom of the Spanish Ministry of Justice (2002). Member of the Bioethics Committee of the Autonomous Region of Madrid, Spain (2004). Co-founder of the Spanish Association of Comparative Law (1996), and member of its Board of Directors. Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law (2002). Member of the International Academy for Freedom of Religion and Belief (1997). Member of the International Advisory Council of The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion and Belief (1999). Member of the Academic Advisory Board of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies
at Brigham Young University
(2006). Member of the Steering Committee of the Project “EuReSIS Net” (European Studies on Religion and State Interaction), funded by the Erasmus Program of the European Union (2006–2009). He has consulted for the governments of Spain
, Mexico
and France
, on issues related to freedom of religion and belief.
Javier Martínez-Torrón was a founding member of the Directive Board of the first Spanish legal periodical specifically focused on the law of the State on religious issues (Anuario de Derecho Eclesiástico del Estado, 1995). He is founder and Deputy Director of the Revista General de Derecho Canónico y Derecho Eclesiástico del Estado (2003), the first electronic legal periodical in Spain specialized on Church-State relations and canon law (included in the Latindex catalogue). He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the Ecclesiastical Law Journal, published by Cambridge University Press
(2006).
, especially on issues related to freedom of religion and belief. He has lectured on those themes in more than sixty international and national conferences or colloquia.
He has received funding for his investigation from different Spanish and foreign sources, among which are: the Fulbright Commission, the U.S.-Spanish Joint Committee for Educational and Cultural Cooperation, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology, the Autonomous Governments of Andalusia and Madrid (Spain), and Complutense University.
Among his writings in the last years are particularly well-known those related to the protection of freedom of religion or belief in international law, especially in the European environment. The results of his research include books on the Spanish system of agreements between the State and religious groups (Comares, Granada 1994); the international protection of religious freedom (Eunsa, Pamplona 1994); the regulation of different kinds of conscientious objection in comparative and international law (with Rafael Navarro-Valls, Giappicchelli, Torino 1995, which obtained the Arturo Carlo Jemolo Award, and McGraw-Hill, Madrid 1997); the historical influence of canon law on the Anglo-American legal tradition (Civitas, Madrid 1991; and Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1998); religion, society and law (Comares, Granada 1999); and some of the legal problems derived from the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Latin-America (Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, México 2000 – this latter book reproduces a large report written for the Mexican National Commission on Human Rights and constituted the ground for a change of the Commission’s policy with regard to the objection of Jehovah’s Witnesses to the flag salute in public schools). His books published as editor include a one-thousand volume on the treatment of freedom of religion by constitutional courts, from a comparative perspective (Comares, Granada 1998); and a volume on religion and state in the Spanish and European Constitutions (Comares, Granada 2006).
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
(Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) since 2000. He obtained his first chair at the University of Granada
University of Granada
The University of Granada is a public university located in Granada, Spain that enrolls approximately 80,000 students. The university also has campuses in Ceuta and Melilla. Every year, over 2,000 European students enroll in the UGR through the Erasmus Programme, making it the most popular...
in 1993. Doctor utroque iure (of Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and of Canon Law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
). Founder and Director of the Seminar of Comparative Law of the University of Granada (1997–2000). Director of the Seminar of Professors of Church-State Relations of Complutense University (2000-). Visiting professor and researcher in numerous Universities of Spain, Europe, North-America, and Latin-America (among them Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, Harvard, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
(Germany) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México - UNAM). He is also, since 2001, part-time Professor of the Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
Law School (Comparative Law, Summer Law Courses).
Professor Martínez-Torrón is Vice-President of the Section of Canon Law and Church-State Relations of the Spanish Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation (1994). Member of the OSCE/ODIHR Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion of Belief (2005). Member of the Advisory Commission on Religious Freedom of the Spanish Ministry of Justice (2002). Member of the Bioethics Committee of the Autonomous Region of Madrid, Spain (2004). Co-founder of the Spanish Association of Comparative Law (1996), and member of its Board of Directors. Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law (2002). Member of the International Academy for Freedom of Religion and Belief (1997). Member of the International Advisory Council of The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion and Belief (1999). Member of the Academic Advisory Board of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies
International Center for Law and Religion Studies
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies, part of J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, was founded in the late 1990s to promote freedom of religion and study the relations between governments and religious organizations. A main project of the Center is hosting an...
at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(2006). Member of the Steering Committee of the Project “EuReSIS Net” (European Studies on Religion and State Interaction), funded by the Erasmus Program of the European Union (2006–2009). He has consulted for the governments of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on issues related to freedom of religion and belief.
Javier Martínez-Torrón was a founding member of the Directive Board of the first Spanish legal periodical specifically focused on the law of the State on religious issues (Anuario de Derecho Eclesiástico del Estado, 1995). He is founder and Deputy Director of the Revista General de Derecho Canónico y Derecho Eclesiástico del Estado (2003), the first electronic legal periodical in Spain specialized on Church-State relations and canon law (included in the Latindex catalogue). He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the Ecclesiastical Law Journal, published by Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
(2006).
Publications
Javier Martínez-Torrón is the author of numerous books and articles, published in eighteen countries; in total, fourteen books and more than eighty essays in legal periodicals or collective volumes. His writings have been published in Spanish, English, Italian, French, Russian, Lithuanian, Turkish and Chinese. His research is characterized by a predominant interest in comparative law issues, especially from two perspectives: the legal treatment of freedom of religion and conscience, and the historical evolution of the great Western legal traditions. He is internationally recognized as an expert in the case law of the European Court of Human RightsEuropean Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, especially on issues related to freedom of religion and belief. He has lectured on those themes in more than sixty international and national conferences or colloquia.
He has received funding for his investigation from different Spanish and foreign sources, among which are: the Fulbright Commission, the U.S.-Spanish Joint Committee for Educational and Cultural Cooperation, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology, the Autonomous Governments of Andalusia and Madrid (Spain), and Complutense University.
Among his writings in the last years are particularly well-known those related to the protection of freedom of religion or belief in international law, especially in the European environment. The results of his research include books on the Spanish system of agreements between the State and religious groups (Comares, Granada 1994); the international protection of religious freedom (Eunsa, Pamplona 1994); the regulation of different kinds of conscientious objection in comparative and international law (with Rafael Navarro-Valls, Giappicchelli, Torino 1995, which obtained the Arturo Carlo Jemolo Award, and McGraw-Hill, Madrid 1997); the historical influence of canon law on the Anglo-American legal tradition (Civitas, Madrid 1991; and Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1998); religion, society and law (Comares, Granada 1999); and some of the legal problems derived from the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Latin-America (Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, México 2000 – this latter book reproduces a large report written for the Mexican National Commission on Human Rights and constituted the ground for a change of the Commission’s policy with regard to the objection of Jehovah’s Witnesses to the flag salute in public schools). His books published as editor include a one-thousand volume on the treatment of freedom of religion by constitutional courts, from a comparative perspective (Comares, Granada 1998); and a volume on religion and state in the Spanish and European Constitutions (Comares, Granada 2006).