The European Court of Human Rights held in its judgment of November 26 in the case of Ebrahimian v. France that there had been no violation of Article 9 (right to freedom of religion) of the ECHR.

The applicant, Christiane Ebrahimian, is a French national who was born in 1951 and lives in Paris. Ebrahimian was recruited on a fixed-term contract within the public hospital service as a social worker in the psychiatric department of Nanterre Hospital and Social Care Center, a public health establishment administered by the City of Paris.

No religion at work

On December 11, 2000, the director of human resources informed the applicant that her contract would not be renewed, on account of her refusal to remove her headscarf and following complaints from patients.

The human resources director sent Ebrahimian a written reminder of the Council of State's opinion of May 3, 2000, which held that while the freedom of conscience of public officials was guaranteed, the principle of the secular character of the state prevented them from enjoying the right to manifest their religious beliefs while discharging their functions; accordingly, wearing a visible symbol of religious affiliation constituted a breach of a public official’s duties.

Judgment of the court

Relying on Article 9 (right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion), Ebrahimian complained that the decision not to renew her contract as a social worker was in breach of her right to manifest her religion.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) noted that wearing the veil had been considered by the authorities as an ostentatious manifestation of religion that was incompatible with the requirement of neutrality incumbent on public officials in discharging their functions. The applicant had been ordered to observe the principle of secularism within the meaning of Article 1 of the French Constitution and the requirement of neutrality deriving from that principle.

'Protect the patients'

According to the national courts, it had been necessary to uphold the secular character of the state and thus protect the hospital patients from any risk of influence or partiality to their own freedom of conscience.

The necessity of protecting the rights and liberties of others – that is, respect for everyone’s religion – had formed the basis of the decision in question.

The ECtHR found that the national authorities had not exceeded their margin of appreciation in finding that there was no possibility of reconciling Ebrahimian’s religious convictions with the obligation to refrain from manifesting them, and in deciding to give precedence to the requirement of neutrality and impartiality of the state.

Read here the press release of the ECtHR (EN/FR) and the judgment (only available in French).