Austrian Constitutional Court will rule on headscarf ban next year, it says

VIENNA, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Austria's ‌Constitutional Court ​expects to ​rule on a newly introduced ban on Muslim headscarves for under-14s in schools in the first half of ‌next year, it said on Monday.

The ban, proposed by ⁠Austria's ruling coalition of three centrist parties, was passed in the lower house ‌of parliament in December with ‌the support of the far-right Freedom Party. Only the opposition Greens, the smallest party in parliament, did not back the legislation.

However, ​it is unclear whether the ban that took effect on September 1 will survive a review by the court. In ⁠2020 it struck down a similar ban that applied to under-10s in schools, ruling that ​it discriminated against Muslims and that the state has a duty to be religiously neutral.

"Female pupils between the ​ages of 9 and 12 as well ‌as their parents have taken recourse against this rule," the Constitutional Court said in a statement, adding ⁠that they argued it violated their freedom of religion and the principle of equality before the law.

"The ruling on the headscarf ban is expected ⁠to be reached in the first half of 2027," it said.

The legislation stipulates ​that a school must hold discussions with any pupil defying the ban, after which a fine of between €150 and €800 ($172 to $918) can eventually be imposed.

Rights organisations, ‌left-wing groups and the body that formally represents Austria's Muslims oppose the ban.

Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr told ‌national broadcaster ORF on Friday roughly 80 cases of pupils not complying ⁠with the ban had ‌been reported nationwide.

"That is ​actually fewer than feared and expected," he said.

($1 = 0.8718 euros)

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Kevin Liffey and ‌Gareth Jones)

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