The Court of Appeal of Quebec decided on Wednesday that religious dress is to be allowed in the courtroom.
The appeal arises out of a case where a judge refused to hear an Islamic woman in court “because she refused to remove her head scarf (hijab) in the courtroom and was therefore contravening the dress code” under court rules. In reaching its decision, the court stated that there was no “general prohibition on wearing religious clothing in a courtroom.” The court then concluded that citizens may wear religious dress in the courtroom provided that they have sincere religious beliefs and the clothing “does not conflict with or harm overriding public interests.”
