article: Muslim women should be allowed to wear a full-face veil while appearing in court, Britain's most senior judge has suggested. Lord Neuberger, the President of the Supreme Court, said judges and courtrooms should allow women to wear the traditional dress as they should 'show, and be seen to show' respect towards different customs. He said judges should be 'sensitive' to the fact that they usually came from 'more privileged sector of society' than many of those facing them and they should have an understanding of the 'different cultural and social habits'. Lord Neuberger said Britain's privileged judges must be aware of their 'subconscious bias' when dealing with poorer members of society . His address to the Criminal Justice Alliance came at a time of uncertainty over the place of Muslim traditional dress in the legal system. Following a controversial trial in 2003 of a Muslim woman accused of witness intimidation, Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas said there was a need for clear guidance on the issue. Rebekah Dawson refused to give evidence after being told she had to remove her face veil to let the jury see her face while testifying. The 22-year-old was later sentenced to six months in prison at Blackfriars Crown Court after changing her plea. Rebekah Dawson refused to give evidence after being told she had to remove her face veil to let the jury see her face while testifying. Here she pictured during her court hearing . Last year, the European Court of Human Rights upheld a ban by France on wearing the Muslim full-face veil, the niqab. A case was brought by a 24-year-old French woman, who argued that the ban on wearing the veil in public violated her freedom of religion and expression. In Lord Neuberger's address, he said judges and lawyers often failed to recognise how 'artificial and intimidating' courts could be for ordinary people. He said: 'I sometimes wonder whether our trial procedures really are the best way of getting at the truth. 'Would you feel that you had given of your best if you had been forced to give evidence in unfamiliar surroundings, with lots of strangers watching, in an intimidating court, with lawyers in funny clothes asking questions, often aggressively and trying to catch you out, and with no ability to tell the story as you remember it?' Dawson was later sentenced to six months in prison at Blackfriars Crown Court (pictured) He said this did not mean a call for a major overhaul of court proceedings but said judges, lawyers and court staff must do as much as possible to help people feel at ease in court. He continued: 'Judges have to show, and have to be seen to show, respect to everybody equally, and that requires an understanding of different cultural and social habits. 'It is necessary to have some understanding as to how people from different cultural, social, religious or other backgrounds think and behave and how they expect others to behave. 'Well known examples include how some religions consider it inappropriate to take the oath, how some people consider it rude to look other people in the eye, how some women find it inappropriate to appear in public with their face uncovered, and how some people deem it inappropriate to confront others or to be confronted – for instance with an outright denial. Lord Neuberger also suggested Muslim women should be allowed to wear a full face veil while appearing in court . 'More broadly, judges should be courteous and, generally, good-humoured; and, while they should be firm, they should never, however great the temptation, lose their temper.' The judge made the comments a week ago during an address to the Criminal Justice Alliance, in which he spoke of modern aspects of the British legal system. In a lengthy speech entitled 'Fairness in the courts: the best we can do', Lord Neuberger also said judges and lawyers should always keep in mind how 'intimidating' the court process can be for those involved in trials, including 'the parties, their families, the victims, the witnesses and the jurors'. Speaking in the context of legal aid cuts, he said the importance of ensuring all parties involved in a case understand the goings-on in a court is now greater because 'people are having to choose between representing themselves or not getting justice at all'. He also said: 'Judges may not appear to be neutral because they will almost always be seen, normally rightly, to come from a more privileged sector of society, in both economic and educational terms, compared with many of the parties, witnesses, jurors in court. 'A white male public school judge presiding in a trial of an unemployed traveller from Eastern Europe accused of assaulting or robbing a white female public school woman will, I hope, always be unbiased. 'However, he should always think to himself what his subconscious may be thinking or how it may be causing him to act.' Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, told the Daily Telegraph: 'Lord Neuberger understandably recommends judges understand the expectations of how those 'from different cultural, social, religious or other backgrounds think and behave and how they expect others to behave' and that the judiciary should show 'respect to everybody equally'. 'It was a missed opportunity, however, not to acknowledge that occasionally – for example on a defendant wearing a full face veil – doing so might conflict with justice being seen to be done, or even justice being done. 'My concern is not theoretical; it is now 18 months since a judge at Blackfriars Magistrate Court wasted a great deal of court time dealing with the question of full-face veils, and made a heartfelt plea for central guidance to avoid this inefficient use of expensive court's resources being replicated elsewhere. 'The Lord Chief Justice's office has been dealing with this for a long time but seems disappointingly reluctant to issue any direction.'
highlights: Lord Neuberger said Muslim women should be allowed to wear a full-face veil when appearing in court to show respect to 'different customs .
  He also said judges must be aware of their 'subconscious bias'
  Judges are 'rightly' seen as from 'privileged' part of society, he said .
  He cited a judge ruling on a case of an unemployed traveller as an example .
  Since publication of this article, Lord Neuberger has since clarified his position which may be read here: Article .
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