Hijab in court: lawyers Rania El-Alloul complain

Updated 21 minutes ago

Rania El-Alloul

Julius Grey and Mathieu Bouchard lawyers turn to the court for a declaratory judgment on the issue of Rania El-Alloul, this woman who could plead his case before the Court of Quebec because she refused to remove her hijab in front of the judge.

The two lawyers are seeking a declaration of the Superior Court claiming the wearing of religious clothing must be enabled in court and it is not for a judge to decide if it is suitable.

Mr. Grey said the goal is not to get a reprimand or compensation, but a declaration by the Superior Court that the wearing of religious clothing must be enabled in court and he does not belong to a judge to decide whether this is appropriate or not. 

"I have not made ​​a thorough study of the possibility of obtaining some damage. All I can say is that the goal of this procedure is not to obtain damages, nor to resign the judge.The goal is to establish a principle once and for all: everyone is welcome before the courts. "- The lawyer Julius Grey

Julius Grey

The two lawyers will also complained to the Judicial Council that the issue of religious symbols port is clarified.

"The Judicial Council may be able to issue directives to all judges by saying that it is established now that you can not, it is not the choice of the judge" whether to allow the port religious clothing at a hearing, Mr. Grey said. A judge "has a lot of discretion in a hall of justice, but not that one," he added.

Judge Eliana Marengo the Quebec Court refused to hear Rania El-Alloul the ground that she was not properly dressed to appear before the court. "I'm not going to hear you if you wear a scarf on your head, as I would not allow a person to appear before me if she was wearing a hat or sunglasses or any other clothing that does not fit in a court hearing ", said the judge Marengo.

Rania El-Alloul addressed to court to try to recover his car seized by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec.

A solidarity movement for the veiled woman allowed the collection of $ 50,000, an amount raised to allow Ms. El-Alloul to buy a new car. This, however, refused the money, but the organizers of the campaign have mentioned the use of a portion of the proceeds to fund litigation.