CASE OF S.A.S. v. FRANCE
Preliminary objection dismissed (Article 34 - Victim);Preliminary objections dismissed (Article 34 - Actio popularis);Preliminary objections dismissed (Article 35-1 - Exhaustion of domestic remedies);Remainder inadmissible;No violation of Article 8 - Right to respect for private and family life (Article 8-1 - Respect for private life);No violation of Article 9 - Freedom of thought conscience and religion (Article 9-1 - Manifest religion or belief);No violation of Article 14+8 - Prohibition of discrimination (Article 14 - Discrimination) (Article 8-1 - Respect for private life;Article 8 - Right to respect for private and family life);No violation of Article 14+9 - Prohibition of discrimination (Article 14 - Discrimination) (Article 9 - Freedom of thought conscience and religion;Article 9-1 - Manifest religion or belief)
Aleš Pejchal;André Potocki;Angelika Nußberger;Dean Spielmann;Elisabeth Steiner;Erik Møse;Ganna Yudkivska;Guido Raimondi;Helena Jäderblom;Ineta Ziemele;Josep Casadevall;Khanlar Hajiyev;Ledi Bianku;Mark Villiger;Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska;Paul Lemmens
10. The applicant is a French national who was born in 1990 and lives in France. 11. In the applicant’s submission, she is a devout Muslim and she wears the burqa and niqab in accordance with her religious faith, culture and personal convictions. According to her explanation, the burqa is a full-body covering including a mesh over the face, and the niqab is a full-face veil leaving an opening only for the eyes. The applicant emphasised that neither her husband nor any other member of her family put pressure on her to dress in this manner. 12. The applicant added that she wore the niqab in public and in private, but not systematically: she might not wear it, for example, when she visited the doctor, when meeting friends in a public place, or when she wanted to socialise in public. She was thus content not to wear the niqab in public places at all times but wished to be able to wear it when she chose to do so, depending in particular on her spiritual feelings. There were certain times (for example, during religious events such as Ramadan) when she believed that she ought to wear it in public in order to express her religious, personal and cultural faith. Her aim was not to annoy others but to feel at inner peace with herself. 13. The applicant did not claim that she should be able to keep the niqab on when undergoing a security check, at the bank or in airports, and she agreed to show her face when requested to do so for necessary identity checks. 14. Since 11 April 2011, the date of entry into force of Law no. 20101192 of 11 October 2010 throughout France, it has been prohibited for anyone to conceal their face in public places.