Islamic Headscarves in Austrian Schools: Judicial Balancing of Educational Rights and Social Consequences
by Kerstin Wonisch and Alexander Ganepola
Question(s) at stake
Whether Article 43a of the School Education Act, which prohibits children under the age of ten from wearing religious headwear in school, violates the freedom of religion and the right of parents to have their children educated in accordance with their religious and philosophical convictions.
Outcome of the ruling
The Constitutional Court ruled that Article 43a of the Act was unconstitutional and should be repealed because it violated the principle of equality protected by Article 7 of the Constitution and Article 2 of the Constitutional Act on the Fundamental Rights of Citizens, and the applicants’ right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion guaranteed by Article 9(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 14(2) of the Constitutional Act.
Country:
Official citation
Constitutional Court, Judgement of 11 December 2020, G 4/2020 (VfGH, Erkenntnis vom 11. Dezember 2020, G 4/2020)
Topic(s)
Keywords:
Attire Cultural diversity Cultural expressions Equality between men and women Freedom of thought, conscience and religion Non-discrimination Protection of the rights and freedoms of others Public authorities' schools Religion or belief Religious and cultural symbols State neutrality
Tag(s):
Bibliographic information
Access case report
View case report in the CUREDI databaseAbout the authors
Kerstin Wonisch (Eurac Research Institute for Minorities Rights, Bolzano, Italy)
Researcher in the field of religious minorities at EURAC Bolzano. Holding a background in law as well as religious science my research focuses on the accommodation of Islamic pluralism and on questions of religion, gender and human rights.
Alexander Ganepola (Eurac Research Institute for Minorities Rights, Bolzano, Italy)
