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INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the wearing of Islamic dress in public spaces and elsewhere has generated widespread controversy all over Europe. The wearing of the hijab and other Islamic veils has been the subject of adjudication before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on many occasions.1 The most recent case before the ECtHR as to the prohibition on wearing the hijab is Lachiri v Belgium.2 In this case, the ECtHR held that a prohibition on wearing the hijab in the courtroom constitutes an infringement of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees the right to freedom of religion or belief. From the perspective of religious freedom, the ruling of the Strasbourg Court in Lachiri is very significant for many reasons. The purpose of this comment is critically to analyse the ECtHR's decision in Lachiri from the standpoint of religious liberty.
FACTS OF THE CASE
In Lachiri v Belgium, Mrs Lachiri was a devout hijab-wearing Muslim woman. She became a civil party with several other members of her family in a criminal case in which her brother was killed. In 2007, the accused was committed to stand trial before the Criminal Court on charges of premeditated assault and wounding resulting in unintentional death. Mrs Lachiri and the other civil parties appealed against that decision, submitting that the offence should be classified as murder and that the accused should be tried before the Cour d'Assises. On the day of the hearing before the Indictments Division of the Brussels Court of Appeal, in accordance with the decision of the presiding judge, the court usher told Mrs Lachiri that she could not enter the courtroom unless she took off her hijab. In response to a request for explanation made by Mrs Lachiri's representative, the President of the Indictments Division confirmed that she had taken that decision pursuant to Article 759 of the Judicial Code. Mrs Lachiri refused to comply with the decision and did not attend the hearing. After exhausting domestic remedies unsuccessfully, she went to the Strasbourg Court. Relying on Article 9 of the ECHR, Mrs Lachiri complained that by excluding her from the courtroom Belgium had violated her freedom to express her religion.
DECISION OF THE STRASBOURG...