VIENNA: Austria's constitutional court on Friday struck down a law introduced last year which banned the headscarf in primary schools, saying the measure was unconstitutional and discriminatory. In a statement explaining the decision, the court said the law "contravened the principle of equality in relation to freedom of religion, belief and conscience".

The law prevented girls younger than 10 from wearing the headscarf and had been challenged by two children and their parents. The measure was passed in May 2019 under the previous coalition of the centre-right People's Party (OeVP) and the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), just days before that government collapsed due to a corruption scandal.