Full Face Veil: EC Court Upholds France's 2011 Ban

by Benson Agoha

 

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has upheld ban of full-face veil by French authorities.  The ban was introduced in 2011, making it unlawful to conceal one's face in public places.

 

In a ruling, the EU court ruled that the ban does not violate a woman's humans rights, after she lodged a complaint with the court in protest against the ban.

 

 In an official statement Tuesday, the  ECHR said "A ban on wearing in public clothing that conceals the face, does not breach European human rights law, judges have ruled."

The statement said "In the case of S.A.S. v. France, the European Court of Human Rights held on 1 July that there had been no violation of the woman’s human rights."

Continuing, the statement read "The court emphasised that respect for the conditions of ‘living together’ was a legitimate aim for the measure at issue and that, particularly as the state had a lot of room for manoeuvre (“a wide margin of appreciation”) as regards this general policy question on which there were significant differences of opinion, the ban imposed by the French Law did not breach the convention."

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