Brussels, 01/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - France will able to continue to ban the wearing in public of the full Islamic veil. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday 1 July that the objective of the French authorities is “legitimate” in not allowing the burqa (a full-body covering including a mesh over the face) or niqab (a full-face veil leaving an opening only for the eyes) to be worn in public.
The Court was sitting in Grand Chamber - in other words, in the full assembly of 17 judges who represent the 47 countries of the Council of Europe. According to its final ruling, “respect for the conditions of 'living together' was a legitimate aim” of the French authorities, which have “a lot of room for manoeuvre” on this, and consequently the law approved in France at the end of 2010 is not against the European Convention on Human Rights.
A young female lawyer had appealed to the ECHR the day this law entered into force in April 2011. She said she wore both the burqa and niqab.
In her rapplication, the 24-year old woman, who remained anonymous, stated that she was not under any “pressure” from her family, that she accepted checks on her identity, and that she wanted to remain free to wear the veil when she chose. She believed this law was against her freedom of religion as the law stipulates that no one can wear clothing in public designed to conceal one's face - under the threat of a €150 fine or citizenship classes.
Stating that the sanctions concerned are among the lightest that the legislator could envisage, the ECHR considered that the ban was proportionate to the goal pursued - in other words, respect for the conditions of living together.
The French government also underlined that the ban targeted all concealment of the face in public - and thus also a hood or a motorcycle helmet. This argument convinced the ECHR. Aware that “the ban imposed by the law of 11 October 2010 admittedly had specific negative effects on the situation of Muslim women”, the ECHR stated that the law in question was not explicitly based on the religious connotation of clothing but on the single fact that it concealed the face.
The ECHR expressed some reservation, however, in rejecting the security reasons invoked by the French government and on the choice of a general ban which could seem disproportionate with regard to the low number of women concerned (around 1,900). The ECHR says it is very concerned by the Islamophobic remmarks that marked the public debate preceding the adoption of the law. (LC)