ABSTRACT
Legal Aspects of Veiling Contrary to a widely held belief, there have never been any laws prohibiting the use of the veil in universities or elsewhere in modem Turkey. In connection with that statement, it is important to emphasize the different legal statuses ascribed to laws and other forms of regulations. Laws are taken care of by the state courts, while violations against the regulations of a certain institution are handled by separate disciplinary councils.1 Laws pertain to all citizens, while the scope of regulations is restricted to certain defined areas. It is important to keep this distinction in mind, because even if there have not been any laws, there have certainly been various kinds of regulations related to clothing. The statutes pertaining to civil servants (state employees) can serve as one example. Lawyers represent another example. According to the regulations set up by the bar association, lawyers are supposed to wear a long robe and be bareheaded when they appear in court. After 1982, similar regulations were made concerning how students were supposed to dress when attending classes. Until that date, however, there had
been no regulations and certainly no laws relating to how students ought to dress.
