E/CN.4/2004/63/Add.2 page 21 in the process of dispute settlement in these cases and that they preferred solutions to be found through dialogue between the two churches concerned. The regulations that have been adopted in this respect reflect the authorities’ position. 103. In this connection, the Special Rapporteur takes note in particular of the comments by representatives of the Orthodox Church to the effect that, in the Orthodox tradition, churches are places of worship that belong to the community of believers who use them, not to the Church authorities. This form of ownership demonstrates how the link between the actual places of worship and the right to freedom of religion or belief is far closer than the link between this right and other types of property belonging to religious communities. The Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that, in certain circumstances, the closeness of this link shows how the deprivation of the right to attend a place of worship may constitute a violation of the right to freedom of religion or belief. 104. International obligations in respect of freedom of religion or belief are primarily obligations incumbent upon the State, not upon religious communities of any kind. Consequently, in cases where members of the community are prevented from using a place of worship that belongs to them, this thereby constituting a violation of their right to freedom of religion or belief, the State cannot abdicate its responsibilities in favour of a process involving an amicable settlement between the two parties concerned. International law requires it to take positive steps to put an end to any situation in which the freedom of religion or belief is violated. 105. From this viewpoint, the Special Rapporteur requests the Romanian Government to end its policy of refusing to become involved in the complex process of returning religious property to the Greek Catholic Church and encourages it to take practical steps to rectify situations that constitute violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief. In this respect, he stresses that the sooner the questions of restitution are settled, the sooner the inter-faith dialogue, which has suffered greatly because of them, can be resumed between the Orthodox Church and the Greek Catholic Church. 106. As for the court cases brought by the Greek Catholic community, the Special Rapporteur is concerned by the attempts to dissuade this community from resorting to this procedure for settling disputes over real estate and by the position of certain authorities that reject court cases in such disputes. The Special Rapporteur believes that an appeal to an independent judiciary is, in a democratic State, the principal means of seeking a remedy for a human rights violation, particularly within the meaning of article 2, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 107. The Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned by reports that final decisions of the courts to grant restitution could not be implemented because of obstacles raised by the Orthodox Church, sometimes with the cooperation of the local authorities. Such actions are flagrant obstacles to the normal exercise of justice and to the independence of the judiciary and may amount to a serious failure by the Government to comply with its international obligation to provide effective remedies for the victims of human rights violations. The Special Rapporteur requests the Government to take appropriate measures to ensure the implementation of the final decisions of the courts in such matters, as well as future decisions on questions of restitution.