The Belgian judiciary hindered by formalism

The daily Le Soir criticises the Belgian judiciary for having dismissed on formal grounds a trial dealing with headscarves in schools after four years of deliberations: "When you see how the high court evades basic principles, you can't help doubting if it really does stand for its ideal: that the constitutional state assures each citizen judicial protection against illegal actions on the part of the authorities [in this case after the headscarf was banned in several schools]. However the situation is simple. Either Belgian law allows schools to pass regulations banning religious or philosophical signs, or it doesn't. And if it doesn't, the responsible judges should not hide behind excessive formalism. They should inform us of the current state of the law. Even if this means putting the ball back in the legislators' court, so they can pass laws that permit peaceful cohabitation in our schools."

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