European Union Non Discrimination Law

This book contributes to a critical reflection of current legislative and jurisprudential developments in Non-Discrimination Law, focusing on the European Union. The book is focused on intersectionality between gender, race and disability and the question of whether, and to what extent, this intersection can be adequately addressed in (EU) law. The discussion rests on two basic assumptions. First, the multiplication of 'discrimination grounds' in EU law and other legal regimes should not result in a dilution of the demands of equality law. Accordingly, the book focuses on the three key grounds - race, gender and disability. These constitute nodes around which other discrimination grounds can be grouped. Second, any multi-ground non-discrimination law framework needs to engage with the question of discrimination on several grounds. This book provides a critical evaluation of some of the problems presented by such intersectionality and an opportunity to explore the issues in depth. This collection offers some new proposals relating to the regrouping of identity categories and to the general approach to socio-legal research in the field. It also contains a comparative section, which expands on practical experiences with intersectionality and law, and a section dedicated to juridical responses to intersectionality. The book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics and those working in the area of EU non-discrimination law and policy.

EU equality law is multidimensional in being based on different rationales and concepts. Consequently, the concept of discrimination has become fragmented, with different instruments envisaging different scopes of protection. This raises questions as to the ability of EU law to address the situation of persons excluded on a number of grounds. This edited collection addresses the increasing complexity of European Equality Law from jurisprudential, sociological and political science perspectives. Internationally renowned researchers from Scandinavian, Continental and Central European countries and Britain analyse consequences of multiplying discrimination grounds within EU equality law, considering its multidimensionality and intersectionality. The contributors to the volume theorise the move from formal to substantive equality law and its interrelation to new forms of governance, demonstrating the specific combination of non-discrimination law with welfare state models which reveal the global implications of the European Union. The book will be of interest to academics and policy makers all over the world, in particular to those researching and studying law, political sciences and sociology with an interest in human rights, non discrimination law, contract and employment law or European studies.

Discussing the fundamental role played by equality and non-discrimination in the EU legal order, this insightful book explores the positive and negative elements that have contributed to the consolidation of the process of EU legal integration. It provides an in-depth analysis of the three key dimensions of equality in the EU: equality as a value, equality as a principle and equality as a right.

EU Anti-Discrimination Law provides a detailed and critical analysis of the corpus of European Union law prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation. It takes into account the changes brought about by the Treaty of Lisbon and contains a thorough examination of the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the EU. The book examines the background to the legislation and explains the essential characteristics and doctrines of EU law and their relevancy to the topic of anti-discrimination. It also analyses the increasingly significant general principles of EU law, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the relevant law flowing from the European Convention on Human Rights. The key concepts contained in anti-discrimination law are subjected to close scrutiny. The substantive provisions of the law on equal pay and the workplace and non-workplace provisions of the governing Directives are similarly examined, as are the numerous exceptions permitted to them. The complex rules governing the rights of pregnant women and those who have recently given birth are dealt with comprehensively and in a separate chapter. Equality in social security schemes is also discussed. The book concludes with an assessment of the practical utility of the existing law and the current proposals for its reform.

The book contributes to a critical reflection of current legislative and jurisprudential developments in Non-Discrimination Law, focusing on the European Union. The work provides coherent coverage of the legal dimension of intersectionality in the EU's non-discrimination regime. It will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics and those working in the area of EU non-discrimination law and policy.

EU Anti-Discrimination Law provides a detailed and critical analysis of the corpus of European Union law prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation. It takes into account the changes brought about by the Treaty of Lisbon and contains a thorough examination of the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the EU. The book examines the background to the legislation and explains the essential characteristics and doctrines of EU law and their relevancy to the topic of anti-discrimination. It also analyses the increasingly significant general principles of EU law, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the relevant law flowing from the European Convention on Human Rights. The key concepts contained in anti-discrimination law are subjected to close scrutiny. The substantive provisions of the law on equal pay and the workplace and non-workplace provisions of the governing Directives are similarly examined, as are the numerous exceptions permitted to them. The complex rules governing the rights of pregnant women and those who have recently given birth are dealt with comprehensively and in a separate chapter. Equality in social security schemes is also discussed. The book concludes with an assessment of the practical utility of the existing law and the current proposals for its reform.

The EU has slowly but surely developed a solid body of equality law that prohibits different facets of discrimination. While the Union had initially developed anti-discrimination norms that served only the commercial rationale of the common market, focusing on nationality (of a Member State) and gender as protected grounds, the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) supplied five additional prohibited grounds of discrimination to the EU legislative palette, in line with a much broader egalitarian rationale. In 2000, two EU Equality Directives followed, one focusing on race and ethnic origin, the other covering the remaining four grounds introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam, namely religion, sexual orientation, disabilities and age. Eighteen years after the adoption of the watershed Equality Directives, it seems timely to dedicate a book to their limits and prospects, to look at the progress made, and to revisit the rise of EU anti-discrimination law beyond gender. This volume sets out to capture the striking developments and shortcomings that have taken place in the interpretation of relevant EU secondary law. Firstly, the book unfolds an up-to-date systematic reappraisal of the five 'newer' grounds of discrimination, which have so far received mostly fragmented coverage. Secondly, and more generally, the volume captures how and to what extent the Equality Directives have enabled or, at times, prevented the Court of Justice of the European Union from developing even broader and more refined anti-discrimination jurisprudence. Thus, the book offers a glimpse into the past, present and – it is hoped – future of EU anti-discrimination law as, despite all the flaws in the Union's 'Garden of Earthly Delights', it offers one of the highest standards of protection in comparative anti-discrimination law.

This casebook, the result of the collaborative efforts of a panel of experts from various EU Member States, is the latest in the Ius Commune Casebook series developed at the Universities of Maastricht and Leuven. The book provides a comprehensive and skilfully designed resource for students, practitioners, researchers, public officials, NGOs, consumer organisations and the judiciary. In common with earlier books in the series, this casebook presents cases and other materials (legislative materials, international and European materials, excerpts from books or articles). As non-discrimination law is a comparatively new subject, the chapters search for and develop the concepts of discrimination law on the basis of a wide variety of young and often still emerging case law and legislation. The result is a comprehensive textbook with materials from a wide variety of EU Member States. The book is entirely in English (i.e. materials are translated where not available in English). At the end of each chapter a comparative overview ties the material together, with emphasis, where appropriate, on existing or emerging general principles in the legal systems within Europe. The book illustrates the distinct relationship between international, European and national legislation in the field of non-discrimination law. It covers the grounds of discrimination addressed in the Racial Equality and Employment Equality Directives, as well as non-discrimination law relating to gender. In so doing, it covers the law of a large number of EU Member States, alongside some international comparisons. The Ius Commune Casebook on Non-Discrimination Law - provides practitioners with ready access to primary and secondary legal material needed to assist them in crafting test case strategies. - provides the judiciary with the tools needed to respond sensitively to such cases. - provides material for teaching non-discrimination law to law and other students. - provides a basis for ongoing research on non-discrimination law. - provides an up-to-date overview of the implementation of the Directives and of the state of the law. This Casebook is the result of a project which has been supported by a grant from the European Commission's Anti-Discrimination Programme. See the detailed website for this book: www.casebooks.eu/nonDiscrimination/.