558. Obligation to protect right not to associate.

The right under Article 111 not to be compelled to associate with others2 ensures that a person's right to hold and express personal opinions3 is protected from the compulsory association with persons, ideas or goals that they do not agree with4. The European Court of Human Rights has thus found that the state has a positive obligation to take reasonable and effective measures to secure the enjoyment of the right not to join, or to leave, an association5. Much of the jurisprudence in this area is concerned with the membership or non-membership of trades unions