MONTREAL — The Court of Quebec is standing by the decision of one of its judges who refused to hear a woman's case unless she removed her Islamic headscarf.
Court spokeswoman Annie-Claude Bergeron said Friday that despite widespread public criticism, Judge Eliana Marengo will not bow to public pressure and Tuesday's court ruling stands.
"There is really no question of letting (public) pressure change the decision," Bergeron said in an interview.
Marengo told Rania El-Alloul inside a Montreal courtroom she had to remove her hijab before the court would hear her case against the province's automobile insurance board, which had seized her vehicle.
The judge said her courtroom was a secular space and religious symbols of any kind were inappropriate clothing.
Marengo cited Article 13 of the rules of provincial court, which reads that "any person appearing before the court must be suitably dressed."
The judge interpreted the rules to include religious headscarves.
"I will therefore not hear you if you are wearing a scarf on your head, just as I would not allow a person to appear before me wearing a hat or sunglasses on his or her head, or any other garment not suitable for a court proceeding," Marengo says in a recording of the proceedings.
El-Alloul refused and the judge adjourned the case to an undetermined date.
Bergeron repeated Friday that judges are masters of their courtroom and have the right to interpret the law and set the rules of the court as they see fit.
However, law professors and civil rights groups and other community groups denounced the decision.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association said the judge's decision was disrespectful, troubling, and a violation of El-Alloul's fundamental right to freedom of religion.
"The courtroom has every right to be secular," said Sukania Pillay, the association's executive director. "But that doesn't translate into telling people what they can and cannot wear in a manner that's incompatible with their freedom of region."
