Nine of the 47 member nations of the Council of Europe argued in a June 30 appeal that the European Court of Human Rights should overturn its decision banning crucifixes in Italian classrooms. The original case was decided by a seven-judge panel; the appeal will be decided by a 19-judge panel, which is expected to issue a ruling in September or October.

Joining Italy in the appeal were Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, San Marino, Romania, and Russia.