On July 1, 2014, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) issued its judgment [3] in S.A.S. v. France, holding that France’s 2010 law “prohibiting the concealment of

one’s face in public places” did not breach Article 8 (private and family life), Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion), or Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). According to the press release [4], the applicant complained that the law prevented her from wearing a full-face veil in public “in accordance with her religious faith, culture and personal convictions.” The Court held that the law pursued the legitimate aim of “the protection of the rights and freedoms of others,” and in particular respect for the “minimum requirements of life in society (or of ‘living together’).”  The Court held that “the barrier raised against others by a veil concealing the face was perceived by [France] as breaching the right of others to live in a space of socialisation which made living together easier.”  The Court also reasoned that the ban was proportionate to the aim pursued, despite “the risk of contributing to the consolidation of the stereotypes which affected specific groups of people and of encouraging the expression of intolerance.”