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The case of a Muslim student in Britain who wants to wear a jilbab, a long traditional dress, to class enters a final phase Monday when it will be considered by the Law Lords, the nation's de facto supreme court.
The jurists are unlikely to overturn the March 2005 decision by the Court of Appeal which concluded that, under the Human Rights Act, 17-year-old Shabina Begum was entitled to wear a jilbab to school.
Rather, the Law Lords will consider the likely consequences of the ruling -- which overturned a lower-court ruling in June 2004 -- for the interpretation of the Human Rights Act.
Begum, whose family roots are in Bangladesh, was excluded from Denbigh High School in Luton, northwest of London, because her jilbab did not conform with the school's dress rules.
Her decision to go to court -- with Cherie Booth, the wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, on her legal team -- coincided with a debate in France that led to a ban on Muslim students wearing headscarves in state-funded schools.
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AFP 051526 GMT 02 06
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