Germany's Federal Constitutional Court has ruled to "establish a duty of
neutral conduct with respect to ideological and religious matters". The cause
in this case was a female law student/ trainer lawyer wanting to wear a burka
whilst conducting herself in normal court procedures as a lawyer or "court
representative".
This appears to be a foundational ruling - one which will have significance,
and be referred to, for years to come - and possibly one which will stand as a
leg to defend the "a-religious" nature of Western political (resting on legal)
institutions.
This ruling on the face of it makes no judgment about any particular religion
(unless one cynically names "Western jurisprudence" a religion of course, as
valid as such a perspective may be), only that religious expression or
dominance is to not be a part of the (German in this case/ for the moment/
pursuant to this ruling) legal system.
One can infer that to the extent litigants choose to bring before the courts
any matters which they choose to couch as religious matters, for example the
age of consent, that the courts will refrain from imposing the ideology of any
particular religion as the foundation for their rulings and judgments in
relation to such matters brought before the courts.
Notably, this position taken by the German superior court does not inherently
preclude religious arguments/grounds (either for or against) any particular
matter brought before the courts, only that the courts ("ought not" at least
according to this precedent) do not bring a pre-conceived religious foundation
to its determinations of such matters.
One can say that this precedent appears to be quite a neutral/ rational
position for superior courts to take - essentially a precedent regarding
jurisprudence itself, thus notable.
When such rulings are made in clear terms, it is not uncommon for them to be
referred to by folks in other jurisdictions (other countries) in future cases.
German Court Rejects Attempt To Enshrine Sharia Law
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/german-court-rejects-attempt-enshrine-sharia-law
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15658/german-court-rejects-attempt-to-enshrine-sharia
...
"With this groundbreaking decision, the court sent an important signal
in favor of the ideological neutrality of state institutions. Especially in
today's society, in which people from many countries around the world live with
different cultural biographies and also with different religions, the state
order must place more value than ever on its ideological neutrality. This is
only possible if the state parties to judicial proceedings are not allowed to
show religious insignia."
