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Hong Kong barristers given option of forgoing wigs for religious head coverings

  • The Bar Association and chief justice have agreed to allow a general exemption for religious reasons to the rule barristers must wear wigs in court
  • Barrister Azan Marwah realised the need for change after a Sikh colleague came to him in 2014 with concerns about observing his faith when called to the Bar

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Barristers wearing wigs feel the heat in May at an appointment ceremony at the Court of Final Appeal in Central. Photo: Nora Tam

Hong Kong barristers will be allowed to wear head coverings for religious reasons instead of the profession’s signature wig under a deal struck between the Bar Association and the chief justice.

No prior approval from a judge would be required, but the general rule that the head piece should not cover a barrister’s face would remain in place, the association said in a circular issued on Tuesday.

Barristers would be permitted to wear “religious head coverings of unemphatic colour in place of wigs” when they were “incompatible with the wearing of head coverings required by religious beliefs”, it said.

“In some rare circumstances, specific guidance or a court direction will be required as to whether modes of religious head coverings are permitted in a particular court or type of hearing, but that will arise only where the clothing in question may affect the just determination of proceedings,” the circular said.

British judges started wearing legal wigs in the 17th century. Photo: Shutterstock
British judges started wearing legal wigs in the 17th century. Photo: Shutterstock

It provided a few examples such as followers of Judaism with their kippahs, Islam with their headscarves and Sikhism with their turbans.

While the number of professionals who will benefit from the change is difficult to estimate due to a lack of official data, barrister Azan Marwah, who was involved in pushing for the liberalisation, said more than a handful would welcome the option. He knew of at least six Sikh barristers who did not keep their hair long, as was the religious custom.

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