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The purpose of this paper is to explore the registration of real estate used for worship or religious purposes in the Spanish Property Register. The discussion focuses on properties belonging to the Catholic Church, which are registered through the special procedure set out in article 206 of the Ley Hipotecaria (Spanish Real Estate Law), as well as on the enrolment of structural modifications made or added to the registered property. Given that properties used for worship or religious purposes have special characteristics, they are governed by a specific legal framework which must be recorded in the Property Register, so as to ensure proper opposability by third parties. Thus, the argument here is that the Register must also record the cultural/religious function of a given property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major issues of concern in the international organizations of human rights is the protection of places of worship against attacks of other groups or governments. The first part of this paper analyzes the documents of United Nation, European Union or Council of Europe organizations dealing with human rights. The result of the research offers a precise map of the hot spots of religious intolerance along the world. Main aspects of religious liberty, as the access to places of worship, the peaceful reunion inside them or the conservation, are infringed. The second part focuses on the European Court of Human Rights cases dealing with places of worship. We could notice how the Court analyzes carefully conditions and limitations of the establishment of places of worship in several European States, examining accomplishment with the minimum standards of the right of religious freedom enshrine in article 9 of the European Convention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]