El Morsli v. France, No. 15585/06, ECtHR (Third Section), 4 March 2008 (dec.)

Refusal of an entry visa for France because of the unwillingness of the applicant, a Moroccan national, to remove her veil at the security checkpoint at the consular offices. The application is inadmissible, as it is manifestly ill-founded.

Art. 9 ECHR
Art. 14 ECHR

1. According to the Court’s case-law, the wearing of the headscarf can be considered to be “motivated or inspired by a religion or belief”.

2. As far as security checks at the access to the Consulate’s premises are concerned, the identification of persons wishing to enter is undoubtedly necessary in the interests of public safety. Under these circumstances, the obligation to remove of veil for the purposes of a security check, as it is very limited in terms of time, does not constitute a violation of Article 9 of the Convention.