|
The Church of Scientology has been involved in court disputes in several countries. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, questions have been raised as to its motives.〔 〕 The Church says that its use of the legal system is necessary to protect its intellectual property and its right to freedom of religion. Critics say that most of the Church's claims are designed to harass Suppressive Persons, people who impede the progress of the Scientology movement.〔〔〔 〕 In the years since its inception, the Church of Scientology's lawsuits filed against newspapers, magazines, government agencies (including the United States tax collecting unit, the IRS), and individuals have numbered in the thousands. In 1991, ''Time'' magazine estimated that the Church spends an average of about $20 million per year on various legal actions,〔 〕 and it is the exclusive client of several law firms. According to a U.S. District Court Memorandum of Decision in 1993, Scientologists "have abused the federal court system by using it, inter alia, to destroy their opponents, rather than to resolve an actual dispute over trademark law or any other legal matter. This constitutes 'extraordinary, malicious, wanton, and oppressive conduct.' ... It is abundantly clear that plaintiffs sought to harass the individual defendants and destroy the church defendants through massive over-litigation and other highly questionable litigation tactics. The Special Master has never seen a more glaring example of bad faith litigation than this."〔 ''RTC v. Robin Scott'', U. S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 85-711-JMI (Bx) 85-7197-JMI (Bx), January 20, 1993, Memorandum of Decision () 〕 Rulings such as this have classified the Church of Scientology as a chronically vexatious litigant. Legal disputes initiated by Scientology against its former members, the media or others include the following: * Religious discrimination cases, including recognition as a religious organization. * Copyright infringement cases. Scientology's religious documents are copyrighted, and many are available only to members who pay for higher levels of courses and auditing. * Libel and slander cases. In the past, the Church has been involved in criminal court cases (e.g. ''United States v. Hubbard''), but increasingly, lawsuits are being brought by former Church members against the Church, such as: * Human Trafficking and Forced Labor (''Claire and Mark Headley v. Church of Scientology, Int'l'') * Fraud and Misrepresentation〔http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/10626116 California couple sues over donations to Scientology, The Guardian, January 23, 2013 (accessed on February 22, 2013)〕 * Libel (e.g. ''Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto''). ==The Church's view== Scientologists say that the church's main goal is to be recognized as a religion, which on occasion has met resistance from opponents (including national governments), and this has forced it to have recourse to the courts. One such area is recognition as an official religion in various governments around the world. Scientology's path to legal recognition as a religion in New Zealand took 48 years and several lawsuits.〔 〕 Other efforts have had less success. In 1999, the United Kingdom rejected an application for charity status and the attendant tax benefits.〔 The Charity Commission (November 17, 1999). ''(Decision of the Commissioners on the application by the Church of Scientology (England and Wales) for registration as a charity )'' (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-08-09. 〕 The church applied for Canadian tax-exempt status in 1998,〔 J. Saunders & T. Appleby, ''Scientology Seeks Tax Receipt Status'', The Globe and Mail, January 19, 1998, A1, A6. 〕 was reportedly rejected in 1999,〔 〕 and is not registered as a charity as of 2009.〔(Canada Revenue Agency Charity List )〕 In Austria, the organization withdrew its application to register as a "religious confessional community".〔 (International Religious Freedom Report 2006 ), U.S. State Department 〕 The activities of the Church of Scientology are not prohibited or limited in any way in the European Union and Scientology enjoys the full freedom of any church in these countries. Some governments, however, have labeled the church as a cult. Although the status is not changed or the freedom is not limited, German〔 (【引用サイトリンク】title=Scientology and Germany, Understanding the German View of Scientology ) 〕 and Belgian government entities have accused Scientology of violating the human rights of its members and therefore called it a "totalitarian cult" and a "commercial enterprise". In 1995, a parliamentary report in France classified it, along with 172 other religious groups, as a "dangerous cult."〔 French National Assembly (Report of the Board of Inquiry into Cults ) (1995-12-22, in French, (English translation ) available) 〕 In Russia, the government had refused to consider the church for registration as a religious organization, which became the subject of proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of ''Church of Scientology Moscow v. Russia''. The court decided that Russia's refusal to consider the Church of Scientology's application for registration as a religious community "had been a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights read in the light of Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion)." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Scientology and law」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|