Introductory Note to the European Court of Human Rights’ Judgment on the Legality of a Ban on Wearing Full-Face Veils in Public (Case of S.A.S. v. France)

Abstract

On July 1, 2014, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in the case of S.A.S. v. France pertaining to the legality of the French ban on wearing full-face veils in public, introduced by Law No. 2010-1192 of October 11, 2010. The decision comes on the heels of a number of related judgments in adjacent areas of dispute circumscribing the right to privacy and religion and delimiting the circumstances that may justify interference with such fundamental human rights. In the present case, the Court for the first time had to deal with a general ban on certain clothing that arguably, for those most affected, epitomizes the manifestation of their religion. Accepting the principle of “living together (le ‘vivre ensemble’)” as an inherent element of the “rights and freedoms of others” in the French context and conceding a wide margin of appreciation to the respondent state in preserving that principle, the Court found no violation of the applicant’s rights to respect for her private life (Article 8) and to freedom of religion (Article 9) under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Keywords: Full-face veil, S.A.S. v. France, European Court of Human Rights, French ban, European Convention on Human Rights, right to respect for private life, freedom of religion, principle of ‘living together’