The Marriage of Lille Case: The Intrusion of Popular Human Rights Discourse in Law

Authors

• Fanny Le Reste

Keywords:

human rights, religion, case law, marriage, secularity

Abstract

In 2008 in France, a tribunal acceded to the demand of a Muslim man for the annulment of his marriage on the grounds that his wife was not virgin. This decision, although in conformity with the prescriptions of the law and the case law, was highly criticized and was therefore finally reversed. Popular reaction against the first decision relied mostly on rights-based arguments. Interestingly those arguments were used against the will of the persons involved in the case. The large-scale reaction illustrates the general fear of the acceptance of Islamic practices in the law.