Lawyers can wear headscarves, court rules

ANKARA – Anatolia News Agency

Turkey’s Council of State has revoked a regulation banning female lawyers from wearing headscarves while working.

The court made the decision following a case in which a female lawyer saw her application for a new professional ID card rejected because she submitted a photograph with a headscarf.

Until now, the regulations of the Turkish Bar Association have said “lawyers and intern lawyers conduct their duties bareheaded and in attire that accords with the profession,” but the court has now removed the expression “bareheaded” from the article.

The court also said its ruling not only applied to courtrooms, but also all offices related to the judicial process, such as clerk’s offices, bailiff directorates, and prosecutor’s offices.

A ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) proposal in September last year that aimed to enshrine the freedom to wear headscarves in the public sphere as part of a proposed charter article on “the right to enter public service” was not accepted at Parliament’s Constitution Conciliation Commission.