Post by mouse on Dec 13, 2014 6:58:50 GMT -5
Women must not hide behind the veil in court says top judge after struggling to tell witness was lying because 'she couldn't see her eyes'
Baroness Hale says seeing a woman's face in the courtroom is necessary
Says she believes veils should be removed at critical points of a trial
Pointed to a case where she found a woman was lying after removing veil
Said it could be possible to use screens if people want to wear a veil
Comes after a Muslim convert refused to remove niqab in court last year
Rebekah Dawson said she had a right to wear her veil when giving evidence
Baroness Hale, pictured, who says that seeing a woman's face when testifying in court is important and necessary
Women giving evidence in court should not be allowed to hide behind the veil, one of the country’s most senior judges said yesterday.
Baroness Hale said judges should be able to insist that women reveal their faces to juries when necessary.
She said she had come to the conclusion after ordering a mother in a family court case to remove her veil – when she realised the woman had been lying.
Lady Hale said: ‘We should devise ways of making it possible and insisting people show their full face when it is necessary. There must come a point where we can insist.’
The deputy president of the Supreme Court has spoken out after a decade of controversy over whether Muslim witnesses and lawyers should be allowed to keep their faces covered in the courtroom.
Despite a promise last year from the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, of a public consultation and clear new rules, the senior judiciary has been stalling, leaving judges and magistrates to decide for themselves what to do on a case-by-case basis.
Taking up the issue, Lady Hale said: ‘We don’t object to allowing people to do things for sincerely held religious reasons if they don’t do any harm. If it does harm, we have to be a bit tougher.’
Recalling her own experience, she told how a mother in a family case arrived at court in ‘full purdah’.
‘In that particular case it really was very obvious both that she loved her children fantastically and that there were occasions when she was lying,’ Lady Hale said.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2871728/Britain-ban-veil-courtroom-says-country-s-senior-female-judge.html#ixzz3LmJjg17z
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Baroness Hale says seeing a woman's face in the courtroom is necessary
Says she believes veils should be removed at critical points of a trial
Pointed to a case where she found a woman was lying after removing veil
Said it could be possible to use screens if people want to wear a veil
Comes after a Muslim convert refused to remove niqab in court last year
Rebekah Dawson said she had a right to wear her veil when giving evidence
Baroness Hale, pictured, who says that seeing a woman's face when testifying in court is important and necessary
Women giving evidence in court should not be allowed to hide behind the veil, one of the country’s most senior judges said yesterday.
Baroness Hale said judges should be able to insist that women reveal their faces to juries when necessary.
She said she had come to the conclusion after ordering a mother in a family court case to remove her veil – when she realised the woman had been lying.
Lady Hale said: ‘We should devise ways of making it possible and insisting people show their full face when it is necessary. There must come a point where we can insist.’
The deputy president of the Supreme Court has spoken out after a decade of controversy over whether Muslim witnesses and lawyers should be allowed to keep their faces covered in the courtroom.
Despite a promise last year from the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, of a public consultation and clear new rules, the senior judiciary has been stalling, leaving judges and magistrates to decide for themselves what to do on a case-by-case basis.
Taking up the issue, Lady Hale said: ‘We don’t object to allowing people to do things for sincerely held religious reasons if they don’t do any harm. If it does harm, we have to be a bit tougher.’
Recalling her own experience, she told how a mother in a family case arrived at court in ‘full purdah’.
‘In that particular case it really was very obvious both that she loved her children fantastically and that there were occasions when she was lying,’ Lady Hale said.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2871728/Britain-ban-veil-courtroom-says-country-s-senior-female-judge.html#ixzz3LmJjg17z
Follow us: @mailonline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
