The Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling made at a preliminary hearing requiring that the female witness, and alleged victim of the case, remove her niqab while testifying.
R. v. N.S. involves allegations of serious sexual assaults against a Muslim woman by two male members of her family. When she was ordered to remove her niqab - a face veil that leaves the eyes visible- she appealed the ruling.
The central issue arising was the apparent conflict between the constitutional rights of a witness in a criminal proceedings and the constitutional rights of the accused in those same proceedings. The Court held that a Muslim woman has a right to wear her niqab, as long as it does not prejudice the trial. The often very difficult decision as to whether the trial is prejudiced must be decided by the judge on a case-by-case basis. The Court provided judicial guidelines to be adhered to when making such assessments.