On 4 October 2012, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held in Harroudj v. France, that the French authorities’ refusal of permission to adopt a child in “kafala” foster care did not violate Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the Convention.
The applicant, under the Islamic doctrine of “kafala”, had been awarded the legal right to foster a child who was a ward of state in Algeria. She filed an adoption request in France which was denied on grounds that the French Civil Code prohibits adoption where the country of origin forbids it.
The Court found that a fair balance had been struck between the public interest and the rights of the applicant. The Court took into account the fact that the kafala produced effects similar to guardianship under French law and noted that French authorities had due regard for cultural pluralism, integrating kafala children without immediately severing ties with the laws of their country of origin.
The Court noted that the French authorities had a wide discretion since there was no consensus among ECHR member states on this question.
Click here to read a Human Rights Europe Article on the case.
Certain religious traditions remain a controversial subject in Europe and readers may remember a
previous bulletin article concerning a German Court’s decision on circumcision and another
bulletin article on the debate and banning of the Islamic veil for Muslim women in France.
In Switzerland last month, a bill proposing to ban burqas was rejected. Opponents of the proposal argued that the proposal was excessive since the practice is not common and the ban would negatively affect the opinions of Muslims visiting the country.