The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a provincial liberal student rights ordinance is valid against the Park Geun-hye government's desire to nullify it.

The Ministry of Education filed a lawsuit in 2013, demanding the nullification of North Jeolla Province's decision to ban corporal punishment and allow students to choose their own hairstyles, saying it violates a higher law.

The provincial ordinance also prohibits teachers from checking students' possessions randomly and holding late night study hall sessions.

The student rights ordinance first went into operation in Gyeonggi Province in 2010 and expanded to Seoul, Gwangju and North Jeolla Province in the following years.

The Education Ministry is authorized to bring to the top court the cases in which provincial educational offices refuse to honor the ministry's request to change ordinances.

In 2012, the Supreme Court struck down a similar lawsuit by the Education Ministry to ban the Seoul City student rights ordinance, citing procedural problems. (Yonhap)