21 September 2016

Bavaria submits proposal for Germany-wide ban on face veils in the courtroom

Bavaria has submitted a new proposal for a law primarily aimed at banning burqas and niqabs from the courtroom. The Bundesrat is due to vote on the initiative in the coming days.

Anyone taking part in a trial in Germany should be required to show his or her face, according to a new proposal for a law Bavaria has submitted to the Bundesrat.

The proposal, which also has the support of Baden-Württemberg, calls for the banning of face veils such as the ones worn by some Muslim women.

"The burqa and the niqab are not only diametrically opposed to our understanding of the equality of man and woman and open communication," said Bavarian Justice Minister Winfried Bausback, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), on Wednesday. "In court, they complicate understanding of the truth and the enforcement of material justice." [Deutsche Welle] Read more