The Chamber of the ECtHR to which the application in S.A.S. v France (No. 43835/11) was assigned has relinquished jurisdiction to the Grand Chamber, neither party having objected to relinquishment.
Under Law no. 2010-1192 of 11 October 2010, which came into force on 11 April 2011, it is forbidden in France to conceal one’s face in a public place: “Nul ne peut, dans l’espace public, porter une tenue destinée à dissimuler son visage”.
The applicant, a French national who is a practising Muslim, states that she wears the burqa in order to live according to her faith, her culture and her personal convictions. She also wears the niqab veil in public and in private, but not consistently; however, she wants to be able to wear it when she so chooses. She states that her purpose in wearing the burqa or the niqab is not to inconvenience others but to live according to her principles. She also asserts that neither her husband nor any other member of her family puts pressure on her to wear the burqa.
