Leyla Şahin v. Turkey: A Case of Judicial Retreat
by Ahmet Said Aydil
Question(s) at stake
1) Whether a ban on wearing the Islamic headscarf at universities constitutes a justified interference with the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and whether such a restriction can be deemed necessary in a democratic society for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others and the maintenance of public order, laiklik (secularism), and gender equality. 2) Whether a university rector’s circular (genelge) satisfies the requirement that restrictions on rights be prescribed by law.
Outcome of the ruling
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) upheld Türkiye’s ban on wearing the Islamic headscarf at universities, finding that the restriction did not violate the applicant’s rights under the European Convention. The Courtaccepted the Turkish state’s reliance on the principle of secularism (laiklik)and held that the restriction was necessary to protect public order and the rights and freedoms of others.
Country:
Official citation
Leyla Şahin v. Turkey, App. no. 44774/98, 10 November 2005
Topic(s)
Keywords:
Hijab Higher education Laïcite Freedom of thought, conscience and religion Right to education
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Bibliographic information
Access case report
View case report in the CUREDI databaseAbout the authors
Ahmet Said Aydil (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Department Law and Anthropology, Germany)
Ahmet Said Aydil is a PhD Candidate in the Law and Anthropology Department at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Bilkent University (Ankara, Turkiye). Following his graduation, he completed his legal internship, working in areas such as commercial law, international arbitration law, criminal law, and administrative law. In 2020 he passed the Turkish Bar and became a licensed attorney.
Aydil also holds an LLM from the Europa Institute, Saarland University, in International and European Human Rights Protection Law and European Economic Law. Under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Thomas Giegrich, his master’s thesis analysed the decline in human rights commitmens in Europe, driven by the rise of populist politics and the mishandling of the refugee influx of 2015, and evaluated potential remedies at the European Union and Council of Europe levels. His current research falls within the framework of the database project “Cultural and Religious Diversity under State Law across Europe” (CUREDI) at the MPI.