Anti-face concealment law

Basic data
Title:	Anti-face concealment law
Long title:	Federal law on the prohibition of concealing the face in public
Abbreviation:	AGesVG
Type:	Federal law
Scope:	Republic of Austria
Reference:	Federal Law Gazette I No. 68/2017
Date of law:	June 8, 2017
Effective date:	October 1, 2017
	Please note the note on the applicable legal version !

The articles prohibition of veiling , law on the partial prohibition of face-covering clothing and anti-face-covering law overlap thematically. Help me to better differentiate or merge the articles (→ instructions ) . To do this, take part in the relevant redundancy discussion . Please remove this module only after the redundancy has been completely processed and do not forget to include the relevant entry on the redundancy discussion page{{ Done | 1 = ~~~~}}to mark. Janui ( discussion ) 12:46, Aug. 2, 2019 (CEST)

The Austrian Anti-Face Veiling Act ( AGesVG ) forbids in public places or in public buildings to cover or hide one's facial features with clothing or other objects in such a way that one is no longer recognizable. Public places also include buses and trains, planes and ships. It is essential for these places and buildings that a group of people has access who is not restricted in advance. Violations of the prohibition can be punished with a fine of up to 150 euros (Section 2 (1) AGesVG).

Exempt from the prohibition are wraps that take place in the context of artistic, cultural or traditional events or in the context of sports or for health or professional reasons. Further exceptions can be provided for by federal or state law (Section 2 (2) AGesVG). The law was passed with the votes of the coalition of SPÖ and ÖVP .

aims

According to the text of the law, the goals of this federal law are "to promote integration by strengthening participation in society and ensuring peaceful coexistence in Austria". Furthermore, it says there: "Integration is a process that affects society as a whole, the success of which depends on the participation of all people living in Austria and is based on personal interaction" (§ 1 AGesVG).

The prohibition of masking during demonstrations and other gatherings is laid down in Section 9 of the Assembly Act ( prohibition of masking ).

implementation

Shortly after it came into force, the law's implementation caused numerous media reports. In Vienna, a man in a toy store worked as a costumed advertising character, due to an emergency call of three law enforcement officers checked. At the Austrian parliament , filming of the democracy workshop for children was interrupted when a protagonist of the project, disguised as a rabbit mascot, had to show his face to the police, who then recognized that they were allowed to exercise their artistic profession.

In another case, a cyclist pulled a woolen scarf on her face on the way home and was reported to the Vienna State Police Department for this reason . An employee of a computer shop who was wearing a shark costume was also reported. If the face is covered because of sensitivity to the cold due to toothache , the police now require a doctor's certificate. According to the authorities, face protection when cycling is only permitted when the temperature is below zero. According to the police, just four of the 30 or so enforcement acts in the first two weeks after the law came into force concerned burqas. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung said that Austria had exposed itself to ridicule here. The proceedings were discontinued in February 2018. The lawyer of the person concerned is now examining the filing of an official liability suit in order to have the legality of the law checked by a court.

criticism

Several organizations were critical of the AGesVG, for example Amnesty International put forward "serious human and constitutional concerns" against the law, stating that it "unduly encroaches on fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution". The goal of the law (participation in social coexistence) is viewed as unattainable through such a prohibition. Instead, Amnesty recommends “fighting the discrimination itself, not just fighting against the symptoms of populism”.

The anti-discrimination office of the federal state of Styria also expresses criticism and refers to the ECHR , which in judgment 43835/11 considered the French prohibition of concealment to be lawful, but at the same time set a narrow framework that the anti-discrimination office in the AGesVG does not see fulfilled: " To justify this encroachment on the right to freedom of religion with the compulsion to integrate and social interaction is a completely different argument and contradicts the view of the ECHR in the cited decision ”. The exceptions defined in Section 2 (2) also show: "The only de facto undesirable facial covering is - without specifically mentioning this in a discriminatory manner - the facial covering of Muslim women."

SOS Mitmensch is critical of wearing clothing that also covers the face, but does not see the law as a measure that promotes self-determination, but rather exerts compulsion and encourages people to “withdraw”.

The Austrian Bar Association sees the AGesVG as "equally unnecessary as unsuitable and fundamentally questionable". It is further criticized that in the event of forced concealment by a third party, “such a ban hits the victim of this compulsion, but not the perpetrator”. The goal of "enabling interpersonal communication" described in § 1 AGesVG is regarded as an essential factor, but at the same time there is also the "right to voluntarily [...] refrain from participating in this communication." This waiver is not only allowed, it must remain free for everyone in Austria. "

Footnotes

↑ ^a ^b ^c Federal Law Gazette I No. 68/2017 , Article 2 of the Federal Act on the Prohibition of Veiling the Face in Public (Anti-Face Veiling Act - AGesVG)

↑ Concealment: Austria controls the ban on concealment with immediate effect - WELT. In: welt.de. Retrieved October 9, 2017 .

↑ Austrian police hunt sharks, rabbits and Lego figures , Neue Zürcher Zeitung of October 26, 2017

↑ Prohibition of concealment: Lego man checked by the Viennese police , Der Standard of October 2, 2017

↑ A woman with a woolen scarf could overturn the Anti-Veiling Act , Der Standard from October 20, 2017

↑ McShark employees in shark costumes received an advertisement in Vienna , Der Standard dated October 9, 2017

↑ Cyclists as victims of the burqa ban , Der Standard from October 6, 2017

↑ Mascot stopped: Parliament falls into its legal trap, Tiroler Tageszeitung from October 26, 2017

↑ Burqa Bans: Which Countries Outlaw Face Coverings? , New York Times October 19, 2017

↑ Man dressed as shark handed fine under Austria burqa ban , The Independent of October 10, 2017

↑ This 'burkha ban' has become a joke , The Hindu of October 14, 2017

↑ Burqa ban proceedings against woman with scarf discontinued , Der Standard dated February 9, 2018