The Concepts of Equality and
Non-Discrimination in Europe:
A practical approach
EUROPEAN NETWORK OF LEGAL EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF GENDER EQUALITY
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe:
A practical approach
EUROPEAN NETWORK OF LEGAL EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF GENDER EQUALITY
Christopher McCrudden and Sacha Prechal
European Commission
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
Unit G.2
This report was financed by and prepared for the use of the European Commission,
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and equal Opportunities. It does not
necessarily represent the Commission’s official position.
This publication was commissioned by the European Commission under the framework
programme PROGRESS (Decision 1672/2006/EC of the European parliament and the
Council, OJ L 315/1 of 15.11.2006). For more information on PROGRESS see:
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/progress/index_en.htm
Production:
Susanne Burri
Frans van Eck
Titia Hijmans van den Bergh
Titia Kloos
Christopher McCrudden
Simone van der Post
Sacha Prechal
Manuscript completed in November 2009
The information contained in this report reflects, as far as possible, the state of affairs on 2 June 2009.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe i
Table of Contents
Members of the European Network of Legal Experts
in the Field of Gender Equality iii
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe: A practical approach
Christopher McCrudden and Sacha Prechal
1. Introduction 1
2. Sources of equality and non-discrimination 2
2.1. Constitutional traditions of Member States and the EEA countries 3
2.2. EC law on equality and discrimination 3
2.2.1. Equality as a general principle of EC Law 4
2.2.2. Equality obligations in the Community treaties and secondary legislation 5
2.2.2.1. Equality of treatment in economic and social context 6
2.2.2.2. Equality and non-discrimination in the area of gender 6
2.2.2.3. Equality and non-discrimination on other grounds 8
2.2.3. Equality and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 9
2.3. Equality and human rights law 10
2.3.1. European Convention on Human Rights 10
2.3.2. Other international and regional human rights instruments as potential
sources of influence on domestic law 10
2.4. Effect of European and International equality and discrimination provisions
in national law 10
3. Meanings of equality and non-discrimination I: equality and rationality 11
3.1. Treat like cases alike 12
3.2. Treat different cases differently 13
3.3. Weight to be attached to equality 13
3.4. Conflicts between the first conception of equality and the other conceptions 15
4. Meanings of equality and non-discrimination II: equality as protected of
prized public goods 17
4.1. EC Law 18
4.2. Human rights as the primary public good in issue in Member States 19
4.2.1. Constitutional provisions 19
4.2.2. Judicial interpretation of this conception 20
4.3. Article 14 ECHR 21
5. Meanings of equality and non-discrimination III: non-discrimination, particular
characteristics, and the ‘grounds’ of discrimination 23
5.1. Grounds of discrimination subject to heightened degree of scrutiny 25
5.1.1. Grounds in domestic and EC legislation 25
5.1.2. Grounds subject to heightened scrutiny under ECHR 26
5.2. Approaches to coverage 27
5.2.1. EC and domestic legislation 27
5.2.2. Rationae personae 28
5.2.3. Rationae materiae 28
5.3. Meaning of discrimination in this third context 28
5.3.1. Treating likes alike: direct discrimination 28
5.3.2. Differing domestic and EC approaches to ‘treating differences differently’ 30
5.3.3. Interpretation of direct discrimination: intention, comparators, and justification 30
5.3.4. Equal pay 32
5.3.5. Article 14 ECHR and treating differences differently 33
5.3.6. Indirect discrimination in the EC directives and domestic legislation 35
ii The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
5.4. Positive action and unlawful discrimination 38
5.4.1. EC law 38
5.4.2. Positive action in domestic law 38
6. Meaning of equality and non-discrimination IV: equality as positive duties
to promote equality of opportunity and de facto equality 41
6.1. EC obligation to promote gender equality 41
6.2. ECHR and positive obligations 41
6.3. Domestic legislation and positive equality duties on public bodies 42
6.3.1. Constitutional and legislative requirements 43
6.3.2. Courts adopt the forth conception of equality in public sector context 46
6.4. Private sector positive obligations 48
7. Conclusions 49
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe iii
Members of the European Network of Legal Experts
in the Field of Gender Equality
Co-ordinator:
Susanne Burri, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Assistant co-ordinator
Hanneke van Eijken, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Executive Committee:
Sacha Prechal, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Christopher McCrudden, Oxford University, the United Kingdom
Hélène Masse-Dessen, Barrister at the Conseil d’Etat and Cour de Cassation, France
Susanne Burri, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
National experts:
Anna Sporrer (Austria), Attorney at law
Jean Jacqmain (Belgium), Free University of Brussels, Faculty of Law
Genoveva Tisheva (Bulgaria), Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation
Evangelia Lia Efstratiou-Georgiades (Cyprus), Advocate
Kristina Koldinská (Czech Republic), Charles University, Faculty of Law
Ruth Nielsen (Denmark), Copenhagen Business School, Law Department
Anneli Albi (Estonia), University of Kent, Kent Law School
Kevät Nousiainen (Finland) Helsinki University, Faculty of Law
Sylvaine Laulom (France), University Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne, Faculty of Law
Beate Rudolf (Germany), Free University of Berlin, Department of Law
Sophia Koukoulis-Spiliotopoulos (Greece), Attorney at law
Csilla Kollonay Lehoczky (Hungary), Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Labour and
Social Law
Herdís Thorgeirsdóttir (Iceland), Bifrost University, Faculty of Law
Frances Meenan (Ireland), Barrister, Four Courts, Law Library, Dublin
Simonetta Renga (Italy), Ferrara University, Faculty of Economics
Kristīne Dupate (Latvia), Practising lawyer
Nicole Mathé (Liechtenstein), University of Vienna
Tomas Davulis (Lithuania), Vilnius University, Faculty of Law
Anik Raskin (Luxembourg), National Women’s Council of Luxembourg
Peter G. Xuereb (Malta), University of Malta, Faculty of Law
Rikki Holtmaat (the Netherlands), University of Leiden, Faculty of Law
Helga Aune (Norway), University of Oslo, Faculty of Law
Eleonora Zielinska (Poland), University of Warsaw, Faculty of Law and Administration
Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho (Portugal), University of Lisbon, Faculty of Law
Roxana Teşiu (Romania), Independent legal advisor
Zuzana Magurová (Slovakia), Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of State and Law
Tanja Koderman Sever (Slovenia), Independent legal advisor
Berta Valdes (Spain) University Castilla-La Mancha, Faculty of Law
Ann Numhauser-Henning (Sweden), Lund University, Faculty of Law
Aileen McColgan (the United Kingdom), King’s College London
Ad hoc experts:
Dagmar Schiek, University of Leeds, the United Kingdom
Christa Tobler, University of Leiden, the Netherlands and University of Basel, Switzerland
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 1
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination
in Europe: A practical approach
Christopher McCrudden*
and Sacha Prechal**
1. Introduction
Equality and non-discrimination are complex concepts, with considerable debate on
their meanings and justification. The discussion of equality and discrimination is, in
general, characterised by considerable conceptual and methodological confusion. This
is no different in relation to the discussion of equality and discrimination in the
European legal context, including in the context of EC law.1
Although there is
agreement on the most elementary principles, in practice a wide range of approaches
is often adopted by, for example, the European Court of Justice and the European
Court of Human Rights. Similarly, despite there being many common definitions of
the central concepts of gender equality law in the EU Member States and EEA
countries, there is a fair chance that the concepts are understood and applied
differently and that confusion also exists here. Understanding how the concepts are
interpreted may help to contribute to the appropriate enforcement of equality law in
the countries concerned, as well as to point to areas where further clarification by the
Commission or Court may be necessary.
This Report provides, in the first place, an analysis of the concept of equality and
related notions in EC law, in particular in the case law of the European Court of
Justice. In the second place, it will analyse the concept of equality and related notions
in the Member States and EEA countries, in particular in legislation, in case law and
in doctrine. Specific attention is paid to the case law of the domestic Constitutional
Courts.2
Although the emphasis of this Report is on gender equality, the discussion of
the various concepts is necessarily broader and may also include other grounds of
non-discrimination.
The Report is guided by the following two central questions:
1. What is meant in the various national legal systems by
a. the range of legal concepts that use the word ‘discrimination’ as the key term,
in particular the concepts of ‘non-discrimination’, ‘direct discrimination’, and
‘indirect discrimination’, and
b. the range of legal concepts that use the word ‘equal’ as the key term, in
particular the concepts of ‘equality’, ‘equal treatment’, and ‘equal
opportunities’?
*
Professor in Human Rights Law, Oxford University and member of the executive committee of the
European Network of Legal Experts in the field of Gender Equality.
**
Professor of European Law, Utrecht University, Utrecht School of Law (Europa Institute) and
member of the executive committee of the European Network of Legal Experts in the field of
Gender Equality.
1
The European Community is a part of the European Union, and EC law is also a part of EU law.
Until now, all gender equality and anti-discrimination law is law that originates in the EC Treaty.
Therefore we use the term EC law or sometimes Community law to describe it.
2
This has the effect that the legal interpretation of equality and non-discrimination of those
countries, such as Norway, in which a significant part of the legal practice regarding gender
equality takes place in the administrative practice of the Ombud/Tribunal system, is not considered
in detail.
2 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
2. How is the relation between ‘equality’ and ‘discrimination’ defined and
understood in the various national legal systems?
The structure of the Report is as follows. A brief discussion of the various sources of
equality and non-discrimination is offered, which will help to clarify the origins of the
non-discrimination and equality principles. Three main sources are identified: the
constitutional and domestic law of the individual Member States and EEA countries,
as interpreted by the domestic courts of these countries; EC law; and the ECHR.
Although this Report concerns primarily EC law and the law of the Member States
and EEA countries, attention is also paid to the ECHR and the non-discrimination
provisions in that Convention. There are several reasons for doing so. First, when
deciding which fundamental rights are protected in the EC, the Court of Justice is
guided by the constitutional traditions of the Member States and the international
human rights treaties, especially the ECHR.3
In particular, in its more recent
judgments, the Court of Justice can be seen to be clearly taking its lead from the
ECHR and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The
relationship between the two courts has not been formalised, and indeed could not be,
because the EC is not a party to the ECHR. This does not mean, however, that there is
no contact between them. The relationship between the two courts also works the
other way around, with the ECtHR seeking inspiration in EC law and jurisprudence.
A second reason for including the ECtHR in the discussion is that the Lisbon Treaty
has created a legal basis for accession of the EC to the ECHR. This may result in the
EU becoming a party to the Convention and the Protocols to the Convention,
provided that the negotiations about accession are successfully concluded in the
future. A third reason for including the ECHR is that, together with EC law, the
ECHR is often an authoritative source of equality and non-discrimination law for the
Member States in their domestic law.
In the four chapters following the discussion of sources, four categories of
equality and non-discrimination applicable in the European legal context are then
identified. The four conceptions are: equality as rationality, equality as protective of
prized public goods, equality as preventing status-harms, and equality as a positive
duty to promote equality of opportunity and de facto equality.4
2. Sources of equality and non-discrimination
There are three main legal sources of equality and non-discrimination of
particular significance in the development of concepts of equality and nondiscrimination
in the European legal context: the constitutional traditions of
Member States and the EEA countries; EC law; and human rights law, in
particular the European Convention on Human Rights. A complete
understanding of these concepts requires an understanding of each and how each
relates to the others.
3
As is well known, in the absence of a Community list of such rights, fundamental rights in the EU
are protected as ‘general principles of Community law’.
4
This report draws extensively on previously published work by Christopher McCrudden, in which
these four meanings were first elaborated.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 3
2.1. Constitutional traditions of Member States and the EEA countries
All but three EU and EEA Members States have one or more constitutional provisions
regarding equality and/or discrimination. The three exceptions are Denmark, Norway
and the United Kingdom. Of those that do have constitutional protections on
discrimination and/or equality, there are, however, significant differences between
them. One difference relates to when the provision was introduced, with some states
having experience of such provisions stretching back several hundreds of years (e.g.
France, 1798), while in other states the provisions are of quite recent vintage.
A second difference relates to whether the constitutional provisions are
enforceable in court by individuals or others. In many states they are enforceable (e.g.
Austria) while in other states they may not be fully enforceable (e.g. in the
Netherlands they are not enforceable against an Act of Parliament). In other words,
the legal status of the various provisions differs significantly from state to state. This
affects, of course, the extent to which there has been authoritative judicial
interpretation of such provisions.
As regards the drafting of these provisions, there are also significant differences.
Many (perhaps most) states have a general equality provision under which citizens
(sometimes others as well) are regarded as being ‘equal before the law’ (e.g. Bulgaria,
Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Germany) or ‘equal under the law’ (e.g. Belgium). The
differences in language may or may not indicate a difference in interpretation. Some
states, additionally or alternatively provide specifically for equal treatment to be
accorded to men and women (Czech Republic, Germany, Poland).
States, either in addition to or instead of these provisions, also provide for
constitutional protection against ‘discrimination’ or ‘different treatment’ but again
there are significant variations between states in the drafting of these provisions. Thus
most states that have such provisions use the term ‘discrimination’ to describe the
prohibited treatment, whilst some (e.g. Finland) use the term ‘different treatment’
instead.
Two further differences emerge from a study of the text of the constitutional
provisions. First, some states have what might be called a ‘closed’ system of grounds
of prohibited discrimination (e.g. Romania) in which the listed grounds appear to be
the only grounds in which discrimination is prohibited. Others (e.g. Poland) have a
more ‘open’ system, where the list of grounds is either not given at all and
discrimination is prohibited on any ground, or the state has adopted an approach to
drafting closely related to the approach taken in the ECHR, where a list of grounds is
specified but ‘any other status’ is included as well, thus bringing it closer to being an
‘open’ system in practice (e.g. Portugal).
There is a second significant difference in the drafting of these provisions
regarding discrimination. Some states prohibit discrimination across the whole range
of possible situations where it might arise. Other states (as does the ECHR) restrict
the prohibition of discrimination to situations where the discrimination is in some way
related to other rights protected by the constitution (e.g. Lithuania). In Hungary, the
wording of the Constitution is similar, but the Constitutional Court extended the
principle of equal treatment to any kind of right.
2.2. EC law on equality and discrimination
There are several different, but overlapping, sources of EC law that establish general
equality and non-discrimination norms binding on EC institutions, and the Member
States where they implement, or act within the scope of, Community law. In addition,
4 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
EC law prohibits other natural and legal persons as well as EC institutions and the
Member States from discriminating in more limited circumstances.
2.2.1. Equality as a general principle of EC law
ECJ jurisprudence subjects the exercise of Community competence to the requirement
that it complies with ‘general principles’ of EC law.5
The ECJ has held that the
principle of equality is one of the general principles of EC law.6
Within the sphere of
EC law, this principle of equality precludes comparable situations from being treated
differently, and different situations from being treated in the same way,7
unless the
treatment is objectively justified.8
Thus, the principle that everyone is equal before the
law is a basic principle of EC law.9
The protection of fundamental rights is also one of the general principles of EC
law. The requirements flowing from the protection of fundamental rights in the
Community legal order are binding on the EC institutions. They are also binding on
Member States when they implement EC rules,10
or act within the scope of
Community law.11
The ‘fundamental rights’ identified by the ECJ are drawn from the
constitutional traditions of the Member States and, in particular, the ECHR. Among
the fundamental rights protected by the ECJ, particular aspects of equality have been
identified. These include religious equality12
and the prohibition of sex
discrimination.13
More broadly, the Court has held that fundamental rights ‘include
the general principle of equality and non-discrimination’.14
Equality as an element of fundamental rights does have an autonomous, if
uncertain, role in EC law. Although in the third Defrenne case15
the ECJ recognized
that the elimination of sex discrimination formed part of fundamental rights, the Court
declined to widen the scope of Article 119 (now 141), which provides for equal pay
between men and women, to require equality in respect of other working conditions.
In Razzouk, the Court held that freedom from sex discrimination must be upheld in
the context of relations between the institutions and their employees. Therefore, in
interpreting the Staff Regulations, the requirements of the principle of equal treatment
‘are in no way limited to those resulting from Article 119 [now 141] of the EEC
Treaty or from the Community directives adopted in this field’.16
So too, equality as
5
See, in general, T Tridimas, The General Principles of EU Law (2nd edn, OUP, 2006) Ch 2.
6
Cases 117/76 and 16/77 Ruckdeschel [1977] ECR 1753.
7
Case 106/83 Sermide SpA v Cassa Conguaglio Zucchero [1984] ECR 4209 at [28]. See also,
Opinion of AG Van Gerven, Case C-146/91 Koinopraxia Enoseon Georgikon Synetairismon
Diacheir iseos Enchorion Proionton Syn. PE (KYDEP) v Commission [1994] ECR I-4199.
8
See, e.g., Case C-189/01 Jippes v Minister van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij [2001] ECR
I-5689 at [129] and Case C-149/96 Portugal v Council [1999] ECR I-8395 at [91]; Case C-411/98
Angelo Ferlini v Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg [2000] ECR I-08081.
9
Case 283/83 Racke [1984] ECR 3791; Case 15/95 EARL [1997] ECR I-1961; Case 292/97 Karlson
(13 April 2000).
10
Case C-442/00 Caballero v Fondo de Garantia Salarial (Fogasa) [2002] ECR I-11915 at [30].
11
See e.g. Case C-260/89 ERT v DEP [1991] ECR I-02925 and the Opinion of AG Sharpson in Case
C-427/06 Bartsch v Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte (BSH) Altersfürsorge GmbH [2008] ECR
I-07245.
12
Case 130/75 Prais v Council [1976] ECR 1589.
13
Case C-149/77 Defrenne v Sabena [1978] ECR I-1365 at [26], [27].
14
Case C-442/00 Caballero v Fondo de Garantia Salarial (Fogasa) [2002] ECR I-11915 at [32].
15
Case C-149/77 Defrenne v Sabena [1978] ECR I-1365.
16
Joined Cases 75 & 117/82 Razzouk and Beydoun v Commission [1984] ECR 1509 at [17]. See also
Case C-37/89 Michel Weiser v Caisse Nationale des Barreaux Francais [1990] ECR I-2395. Case
C-227/04 Lindofer v Council [2007] ECR I-06767.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 5
an aspect of fundamental rights played an important role in P v S and Cornwall CC,17
regarding whether discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment was
prohibited under EC law. For Tridimas, the case ‘provides a prime example of the
way the Court views the principle of equality as a general principle of EC law
transcending the provisions of Community legislation’.18
In other cases, however,
such as Grant (regarding discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation), the Court
has been cautious in drawing on the apparent logic of this position to reach
conclusions that are, in the Court’s view, beyond the existing European political
consensus.19
The significance of recognising equality as a general principle can be seen in the
decision of the ECJ in Mangold,20
which involved the issue, inter alia, of the
application of the prohibition of age discrimination in the EC Employment
Discrimination Directive21
in Germany.22
A major problem apparently standing in the
way of the application of the Directive was that the time limit for transposition of the
age discrimination provisions of the Directive had not yet passed for Germany. The
ECJ, however, did not find this to be an insuperable barrier for several reasons.
Crucially, one of the reasons articulated by the ECJ, was that the principle of nondiscrimination
on grounds of age must be regarded as a general principle of
Community law and that the application of the general principle of equal treatment
was not conditional on the expiry of the period allowed for the transposition of a
directive implementing the principle of non-discrimination in a specific area. The
Court held that the principle of non-discrimination as a general principle of
Community law on grounds of age and, by analogy, on the other grounds designated
by Community law, meant that ‘it is the responsibility of the national court, hearing a
dispute involving the principle of non-discrimination, to provide the legal protection
which individuals derive from the rules of Community law and to ensure that those
rules are fully effective, setting aside any provision of national law that may conflict
with that law.’23
This seems to imply that, even if the parties to the case may not rely
on the provisions of the Directives before national courts, the national court is still
obliged to respect the primacy of the general principle of equality in Community law,
thus appearing to create the possibility of the evolution of a body of EC nondiscrimination
law through direct application of the general principle.24
2.2.2. Equality obligations in the Community treaties and secondary legislation
We turn now to consider the specific circumstances in which the principles of equality
and non-discrimination arise as legally enforceable other than through them being
aspects of the general principles of EC law. There are specific provisions of the
Community and Union treaties that establish equality and non-discrimination
obligations and, in some cases, rights.
17
Case C-13/94 [1996] ECR I-2143.
18
T Tridimas, The General Principles of EU Law (2nd edn, OUP, 2006) p. 104.
19
Case C-249/96 Grant v South West Trains Ltd [1998] ECR I-621.
20
Mangold v Rudiger Helm, Case C-144/04 [2005] ECR I-9981.
21
Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000, [2000] OJ L303, 16.
22
This paragraph draws significantly on Christopher McCrudden and Haris Kountouros, Human
rights and European equality law, in Helen Meenan (ed), Equality Law in an Enlarged European
Union: Understanding the Article 13 Directives (CUP, 2007), 72 at 89–90.
23
Mangold v Rudiger Helm, Case C-144/04 [2005] ECR I-9981at [77].
24
For a more cautious approach, see Chacon Navas, Case C13/05, [2006] ECR I-6467, at paragraphs
53 and 56 (non-discrimination on grounds of sickness not a general principle).
6 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
2.2.2.1. Equality of treatment in economic and social contexts
There are several EC Treaty provisions in which the principles of non-discrimination
or equality are expressly mentioned. These are regarded as specific enumerations of
the general principle of equality.25
The principal examples are Article 12 EC
(discrimination on the grounds of being a national of one of the Member States is
prohibited), Article 34(2) EC (non-discrimination between producers and consumers
in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy), Article 39 EC (non-discrimination
between workers who are nationals of the host state and those who are nationals of
another Member State), Article 43 EC (equal treatment as between nationals and nonnationals
who are established in a self-employed capacity in a Member State), Article
49 EC (equal treatment for providers of services), and Article 90 EC (nondiscrimination
in the field of taxation as between domestic and imported goods).26
Article 12 EC provides that ‘[w]ithin the scope of the application of this Treaty, and
without prejudice to any special provisions contained therein, any discrimination on
grounds of nationality shall be prohibited.’ A considerable body of secondary
legislation has further supplemented these provisions.27
While equality and non-discrimination, in particular non-discrimination on
grounds of nationality, began as a means of securing market integration, by now it has
also become a method to deliver social policies. Relatively early in the case law of the
ECJ, in particular in cases involving individuals, the nexus between economic
integration and non-discrimination has been weakened in the sense that social
considerations have also been taken on board. The result was that individuals, often
migrant workers and their families, were held to be entitled to various types of social
benefits.28
This trend in the case law of the ECJ, going far beyond market integration,
was further reinforced by cases on the free movement of students and, in particular,
by the combination of Article 12EC with European citizenship.29
2.2.2.2. Equality and non-discrimination in the area of gender
Articles 2 and 3(2) EC impose the objective of promoting equality between men and
women in the Community. Article 141 EC provides for the right to equality between
men and women in the context of pay. This also provides that the principle of equal
treatment does not prevent the maintenance or adoption of measures providing for
specific advantages in order to make it easier for the under-represented sex to pursue a
vocational activity or to prevent or compensate for disadvantages in professional
careers.30
In addition, there is a set of legislative provisions addressing gender inequality
that sets a legal framework for women’s equality in employment and working
conditions more generally. These initially comprised three directives: the first on
25
Case 1/72 Frilli v Belgium [1972] ECR 457 at [19]; Royal Scholten-Honig (Holdings) Ltd v
Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce [1978] ECR 2037 at [26].
26
Article 18 EC.
27
E.g. Council Regulation (EEC) 1612/68 on the free movement of workers within the Community
[1968] OJ L257/2, and the more recent Directive 2004/38 on the right of citizens of the Union and
their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States [2004] OJ
L158/77, in particular Article 24.
28
Cf. Case 249/83, Hoeckx [1995] ECR 974; Case 94/84, Deak [1985] ECR 1873; and Case
C-237/94, O’Flynn [1996] ECR I-2617.
29
Cf. Case C-85/96, Martinez Sala [1998] ECR I-2691, Case C-184/00, Grzelczyk [2001] ECR
I-6193, Case C-148/02, Avello [2003] ECR I-11613, and Case C-209/03 Bidar v Ealing and
Secretary of State for Education and Skills [2005] ECR I-02119.
30
Article 141(4) EC.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 7
equal pay (which incorporated the International Labour Organization concept of
‘equal pay for work of equal value’),31
a second on equal treatment in other aspects of
employment (such as hiring, promotions, and dismissals),32
and the third on equal
treatment in a limited number of social security matters.33
During the early to mid
1980s, only two of several proposed directives on equality were adopted, both in
1986, and both of very limited scope: one on equality in occupational social security,
and one on equality between self-employed men and women (the Occupational Social
Security Directive34
and the Self Employed Directive35
).
Several pieces of legislation during the 1990s are important. There is a 1992
directive providing certain rights to pregnant women, and those who are breastfeeding
(Pregnant Workers Directive).36
The Working Time Directive was passed in
1993.37
Under the Social Protocol (and excluding the United Kingdom initially) a
Parental Leave Directive was agreed, providing for periods of time off work for
mothers and fathers in certain circumstances).38
In 1996, the Occupational Social
Security Directive was adopted, amending the 1986 Occupational Social Security
Directive).39
In 1997, the Council adopted the Burden of Proof Directive.40
This
included a legislative definition of indirect discrimination, and provisions aiming to
adjust the rules on the burden of proof in sex discrimination cases. In 1997, the Parttime
Workers Directive prohibited discrimination between part-time and full-time
workers in certain circumstances.41
We shall subsequently see that, from 2000, EC anti-discrimination law was
significantly expanded to cover grounds of discrimination other than gender, and
beyond the employment context, and this also stimulated further reform of the gender
31
Council Directive (EEC) 75/117 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women [1975] OJ L45/198.
32
Council Directive (EEC) 76/207 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men
and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working
conditions [1976] OJ L39/40.
33
Council Directive (EEC) 79/7 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment
for men and women in matters of social security [1979] OJ L6/24.
34
Council Directive (EEC) 86/378 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men
and women in occupational social security schemes [1986] OJ L225/40.
35
Council Directive (EEC) 86/613 on the application of the principle of equal treatment between men
and women engaged in an activity, including agriculture, in a self-employed capacity, and on the
protection of self-employed women during pregnancy and motherhood [1986] OJ L359/56.
36
Council Directive (EEC) 92/85 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the
safety and health at work of pregnant workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding
[1992] OJ L348/1.
37
Council Directive (EC) 93/104 concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time
[1993] OJ L307/18.
38
Council Directive (EC) 96/34 on the framework agreement on parental leave concluded by UNICE,
CEEP and the ETUC [1996] OJ L145/11, eventually agreed to by the UK in Council Directive (EC)
97/75 amending and extending, to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
Directive (EC) 96/34 on the framework agreement on parental leave concluded by UNICE, CEEP
and the ETUC [1997] OJ L10/24.
39
Council Directive (EC) 96/97 amending Directive (EEC) 86/378 on the implementation of the
principle of equal treatment for men and women in occupational social security schemes [1997] OJ
L14/13.
40
Council Directive (EC) 97/80 on the burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex [1998]
OJ L14/6, eventually accepted by the UK in Council Directive (EC) 98/52 on the extension of
Directive (EC) 97/80 on the burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex to the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [1998] OJ L205/66.
41
Council Directive (EC) 97/81 concerning the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded
by UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC—Annex: Framework Agreement on part-time work [1998] OJ
L14/9.
8 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
discrimination directives. Significant amendments to the 1976 Equal Treatment
Directive were introduced in 2002, to be implemented by Member States by
5 October 2005.42
In 2004, for the first time, gender discrimination was prohibited in
the area of goods and services.43
This had to be implemented by Member States by the
21 December 2007. In 2006, a new (‘Recast’) Directive was adopted bringing
together many of the existing provisions of several gender discrimination directives
dealing with employment, and updating them to reflect the case law of the ECJ.44
This
Directive is to be implemented by Member States by 15 August 2009.
‘Soft law’ instruments, although not in the form of traditional legislation, and thus
not directly enforceable, have set standards and raised expectations, whilst also
having considerable indirect influence on the interpretation of the main ‘hard law’
instruments, particularly in the context of national legislation. They are not, therefore,
devoid of legal effect. The Commission and Council have adopted such instruments in
several areas of gender equality, in particular in such difficult areas as equal pay,
positive action, sexual harassment, and women’s representation.45
2.2.2.3. Equality and non-discrimination on other grounds
Article 13 EC, introduced by the Amsterdam Treaty, enacts a general legislative
power to tackle a broad range of types of discrimination.46
On the basis of Article 13
EC, the Community has developed an important package of measures.47
The Race
Discrimination Directive48
prohibits racial and ethnic origin discrimination in access
to employment, vocational training, employment and working conditions,
membership of and involvement in unions, and employer organizations, social
42
Council Directive (EC) 2002/73 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September
2002 amending Council Directive (EEC) 76/207 on the implementation of the principle of equal
treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion,
and working conditions [2002] OJ L269/15.
43
Council Directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004 implementing the principle of equal
treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services, [2004] OJ
L373/37.
44
Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July on the
implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in
matters of employment and occupation (Recast), [2006] OJ L204/23.
45
Commission Communication on the consultation of management and labour on the prevention of
sexual harassment at work COM (1996) 378; Council Resolution of 27 March 1995 on the balanced
participation of men and women in decision-making [1995] OJ L168; Council Recommendation of
2 December 1996 on the balanced participation of men and women in the decision-making process
[1996] OJ L319/11; Council Recommendation 84/635 on the promotion of positive action for
women [1984] OJ L331/34; Communication from the Commission of 17 July 1996 ‘A Code of
practice on the implementation of equal pay for work of equal value for women and men’
(COM(96) 336); Commission Recommendation of 27 November 1991 on the protection of the
dignity of women and men at work, including the code of practice to combat sexual harassment
(92/131/EEC).
46
‘Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Treaty and within the limits of the powers
conferred by it upon the Community, the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the
Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, may take appropriate action to combat
discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual
orientation.’
47
The literature on equality and the Amsterdam Treaty, together with analysis of the new Article 13
EC directives (in draft and as enacted) is already voluminous; as excellent introductions see Mark
Bell, Anti-discrimination Law and the European Union (OUP, 2002), Evelyn Ellis, EU AntiDiscrimination
Law (OUP, 2005), and Helen Meenan (ed), Equality Law in an Enlarged European
Union: Understanding the Article 13 Directives (CUP, 2007).
48
Council Directive (EC) 2000/43 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons
irrespective of racial or ethnic origin [2000] OJ L180/22.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 9
protection, including social security and healthcare, ‘social advantages’, education, as
well as goods and services, including housing. The Employment Discrimination
Directive49
prohibits discrimination primarily in the employment context (access to
employment, self-employment and occupations; vocational guidance and training;
employment and working conditions, including dismissals and pay; membership of
organizations), across the rest of the Article 13 EC categories (disability, age, sexual
orientation, religion and belief). These directives lay down minimum requirements
and give Member States the option of introducing or maintaining more favourable
provisions. The directives may not be used to justify any regression in the situation
that already prevails in each Member State. Member States were required to
implement the Race Directive by July 2003. The provisions in the Framework
Directive in relation to religion or belief and sexual orientation were to be
implemented by November 2003, and those on age and disability by November 2006.
In 2008, the Commission proposed a new directive against discrimination outside
employment on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation.50
2.2.3. Equality and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
Another source of the equality principle in EC law is the EU Charter of Fundamental
Rights promulgated in 2000.51
In part, this document sets out more systematically the
fundamental rights already considered by the ECJ as arising from the general
principles of EC law. The Charter goes further, however, in setting out a wider
catalogue of rights that are considered to be fundamental in the Community/Union.
The Charter contains a Chapter headed ‘equality’.
The extent to which these provisions will be seen as giving rise to a legally
enforceable principle of equality remains to be seen – the Charter contains a number
of complex provisions as to the scope of its application.52
In any case, the legal status
of the Charter53
is linked to the new Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on
European Union and the Treaty establishing the EC. The Treaty of Lisbon
incorporates the Charter into EU law (with special provisions for the UK and Poland).
As is well-known, after Ireland rejected the draft Treaty in a referendum on 12 June
2008, it was for a while unclear whether the Lisbon Treaty would be ratified by all the
Member States. However, several Advocates-General,54
the Court of First Instance,55
and the ECJ itself have already referred to the Charter in their opinions and
decisions.56
A further Irish referendum held in October 2009 accepted the draft Treaty
49
Council Directive (EC) 2000/78 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in
employment and occupation [2000] OJ 303/16.
50
COM(2008)426 of 2 July 2008.
51
[2000] OJ C 364/1.
52
See for example S. Koukoulis-Spiliotopoulos ‘The Lisbon Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights:
maintaining and developing the acquis and gender equality’ European Gender Equality Law Review 1/2008
pp.15-24.
53
The Charter was jointly and solemnly proclaimed at Nice in December 2001 by the Council,
Commission and Parliament. The equality clause in the Charter provides in Article 20, ‘Everyone is
equal before the law’, while Article 21(1) reads: ‘Any discrimination based on any ground such as
sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or
any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual
orientation shall be prohibited’.
54
R v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, ex p BECTU, Case C-173/99, [2001] ECR I-4881.
55
T-177/01 Jego-Quere v Commission [2002] ECR II-2365.
56
See, for example, C-540/03 Parliament v Council [2006] ECR I-5769; Case C-432/05 Unibet
[2007] ECR I-2271; Case C-303/05 Advocaten voor de wereld, 3 May 2007; Joined Cases
C-402/05 P and C-415/05 P, Kadi v Council of the European Union (2008) 3 CMLR 41.
10 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
and, after the Czech Constitutional Court cleared the way for ratification on 3
November 2009, the Czech president signed the ratification instrument (though only
after having obtained a limitation as to the justiciability of the Charter in the Czech
republic, in the same way as the UK and Poland did before). While the entry into
force of the Lisbon Treaty will make the Charter legally enforceable, the various
implicit and explicit limitations are likely to provide rich ground for legal debate and
cases-law.
2.3. Equality and human rights law
2.3.1. European Convention on Human Rights
Article 14 ECHR provides that ‘the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in
[the] Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex,
race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
association with a national minority, property, birth or other status’. The Council of
Europe has adopted a new equality provision (Protocol 12) that will go some way to
remedying some of the limits of Article 14 ECHR.57
The Protocol, in effect, would
add an additional provision to Article 14 that would prohibit discrimination on any
grounds such as those set out in Article 14 by a public authority in circumstances
where other Convention rights are not engaged, whilst ‘[r]eaffirming that the principle
of non-discrimination does not prevent States Parties from taking measures in order to
promote full and effective equality, provided that there is an objective and reasonable
justification for those measures’.58
The Protocol entered into force on 1 April 2005.
2.3.2. Other international and regional human rights instruments as potential sources
of influence on domestic law
These include the major human rights instruments concluded under the auspices of the
United Nations (the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1966, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966). In addition,
some international treaties have a specific focus on discrimination and equality
(Convention on the Political Rights of Women 1953, Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1966, Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women 1979, and Convention on the Rights of the
Child 1989). In 2007, the UK signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities 2006, but has not yet ratified it. Several International Labour Organization
instruments deal with discrimination: the Equal Remuneration Convention 1951
(No. 100) and the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention 1958
(No. 111). In addition, several Council of Europe conventions are relevant (on
economic and social rights (European Social Charter 1961, revised European Social
Charter, 1996), national minorities (Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities 1995), and minority languages (European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages, 1992)).
2.4. Effect of European and International equality and discrimination provisions
in national law
Of the provisions discussed above, EC law, particularly the Directives, and the
European Convention on Human Rights, are the most consistently important influence
on most EC and EEA states. All states have changed their domestic equality law as a
57
Protocol 12 to the ECHR, adopted Rome, 4 November 2000.
58
Preamble, fourth indent.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 11
result of the development of EC law. All the EC and EEA states have ratified the
ECHR. Most states have also incorporated the ECHR into domestic law. Many states’
courts, particularly Constitutional Courts, also frequently cite both ECJ and ECtHR
decisions in domestic cases.
Of the other Council of Europe and international instruments discussed above, the
one further provision that appears to be of considerable importance (at least in some
states) is CEDAW. This Convention has been influential in several states, sometimes
as an influence on the drafting of constitutional provisions (Austria, Finland, Greece,
Iceland) and in the context of judicial adjudication of domestic provisions (Greece,
Finland). In particular, CEDAW appears to have been influential in domestic debates
about the meaning of equality because it emphasises the concept of ‘de facto’
equality, thus encouraging states to adopt the fourth conception of equality to be
discussed below. There appears to be a close correlation, indeed, between the
influence exerted by CEDAW, and the extent to which the state has adopted the
fourth conception of equality, although which is cause and which is effect is
uncertain. The only major exception to this appears to be Germany. CEDAW appears
to have had little influence, and the broad concept of discrimination enshrined in
CEDAW has not been recognized by courts and only by few academics but not by the
academic mainstream. Nor does it appear that CEDAW’s understanding of temporary
special measures has been taken up in mainstream interpretations of constitutional and
statutory law. Yet, despite that, we shall see subsequently that Germany has adopted
an approach in the public sector that stresses the need to tackle de facto equality.
The fact that states are often influenced by multiple international and regional
conventions incorporating anti-discrimination and equality norms sometimes poses a
dilemma because different international and regional provisions appear to adopt
different understandings of equality and non-discrimination. Conflict between these
understandings can contribute to dilemmas for states because it proves difficult to
follow all of these different standards at the same time, thus encouraging a hierarchy
of understandings of equality to evolve, based on the hierarchy of legal sources of
these differing norms. An example from Norway illustrates the point. The Norwegian
State cited its obligations under CEDAW Article 4 in its attempt to maintain the
ability to earmark positions for women at the University of Oslo. The EFTA Court,
applying EC law in its judgment in case E-1/02, did not share that view that CEDAW
should trump EC law.
Having considered the main sources relevant to equality and non-discrimination
in the European legal space, we turn now to consider in more detail the four
conceptions of equality and non-discrimination mentioned in the introduction to this
Report.
3. Meanings of equality and non-discrimination I: equality and rationality
Equality, in this first meaning, requires that, save where there is an adequate
justification, like cases must not be treated differently, and different cases must
not be treated in the same way. This implies that where two categories are
treated differently, the first issue is whether the categories involved are similar
or not. If they are not, there is nothing wrong with treating them differently. If
they are, the question is whether the difference in treatment can be justified. In
this first meaning of equality, the justification that is required in order to be
accepted may often be highly deferential to decisions taken by public bodies: if
the action taken is ‘rational’, that may be enough.
12 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
The first meaning of equality is where the principle of non-discrimination is a selfstanding
principle of general application, without specific limitation on the
circumstances in which it is applicable (except that it be in the public realm, broadly
defined), and without limitation on the grounds on which the difference of treatment
is challengeable. In EC and EEA states, this approach to equality is particularly
associated with broad constitutional equality guarantees, as discussed in the previous
section. This meaning, I shall suggest, is essentially rationality-based.
Equality essentially requires, then, that where the exercise of governmental power
results in unequal treatment, it should be properly justified, according to consistently
applied, persuasive and acceptable criteria, and this I shall call ‘equality as
rationality’. However, a general idea of equality as rationality cannot operate without
some criteria of likeness, difference, acceptability and justification.
The common starting point for the interpretation of the general constitutional
guarantees typically found in European constitutions closely follows what has been
called the Aristotelian conception of equality. It has two dimensions: like cases should
be treated alike, and different cases should be treated differently.
3.1. Treat like cases alike
The first is that like cases should be treated alike, which also implies that unlike cases
may be treated differently. In Belgium, decisions of the courts, later of the Conseil
d’Etat (the highest administrative court) and more recently the Constitutional Court
have adopted a common conception of equality: that there is discrimination when one
person, or one group, is treated less (or more) favourably than another person, or
group, in the same situation or in comparable situations. In Estonia, the Supreme
Court has held that the first sentence of Article 12(1) of the Constitution embraces the
right of a person not to be treated unequally. This applies above all to the equality
upon application of law and means a requirement to implement valid laws to every
person impartially and in a uniform manner. Equality in legislation requires that the
law must treat persons in similar situations equally. In France, the Constitutional
Council has held that the principle of equality does not preclude legislation from
laying down different rules for categories of persons in different situations or
legislation from laying down different rules where the difference of treatment is
justified by general interest and where the difference of treatment is compatible with
the purpose of the legislation. In Poland, too, the Constitutional Court has interpreted
the constitutional principle of equality to mean that all subjects characterized by a
certain feature or belonging to certain category must be treated equally, without any
differentiation, neither in a discriminatory manner, nor more favourably.
An example from Cyprus will illustrate the approach. The Supreme Constitutional
Court (SCC) in the Mikrommatis case59
held that the addition of the income from
property of a married woman for purposes of income tax to that of her husband, was a
reasonable distinction based on the intrinsic nature of the community of life existing
between spouses and did not amount to discrimination on the ground of sex, whilst
the addition of the income of the wife’s labour to that of her husband had no relation
to the intrinsic nature of the bond of marriage, nor was it justified and, therefore, it
was discrimination on the ground of sex. The right to equality is subject to reasonable
differentiations between inherently different situations. On the other hand, arbitrary
unreasonable differentiations not justified by the intrinsic nature of things, will
contravene the equality principle. However, in the later case of Ioannidou v Republic,
59
2 JSCC, pages 125-132.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 13
the Court held that it was contrary to the principle of equality for women’s income
from any source simply to be added to that of her husband.60
Since then, each spouse
is taxed separately according to his or her own income.
The recent Arcelor case is an example from the ECJ. This concerned a
greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme established by an EC Directive.
The scheme currently applies to the steel sector only and not to other sectors, such as
the chemical and non-ferrous metal sectors, which are comparable to the steel sector.
The ECJ held that in an area where the Community legislature has a broad discretion
and its action involves political, economic and social choices, as well as complex
assessments and evaluations, an arbitrary difference in treatment of comparable
industrial sectors would amount to a breach of the principle of equal treatment and
therefore breach Community law. However, after an examination of the issues, the
ECJ held that the difference in treatment was justified and that there was, therefore,
no arbitrariness. The criteria applied were objective and appropriate to the aim
pursued by the legislation in question.61
3.2. Treat different cases differently
The second dimension of the Aristotelian conception of equality is sometimes seen as
the corollary of the first. It is that different cases must be treated differently. The
Constitutional Court of Latvia, for example, interpreted Article 91 of Constitution,
providing for principle of equality and non-discrimination, not only as forbidding
state institutions from enacting norms that distinguish between persons who find
themselves in similar conditions without a reasonable ground, but also as demanding
different attitudes to persons who are in different circumstances.62
In Poland, the
Constitutional Court has declared in one of its earlier decisions that different
requirements for retirement benefits for female and male workers in the mining
industry (as regards age or time of employment) were constitutional.63
The
Constitutional Court justified this decision as follows: ‘The law, in order to be just,
cannot avoid certain legal classifications differentiating individuals by using norms
addressed to specific groups or classes of citizens only. If therefore the biological and
social differences between men and women have significance from the point of view
of ‘wearing out’ (‘wasting’, ‘burning up’) at work, the law describing identically the
legal conditions for early retirement for both groups of employees would infringe the
principle of equality (the equality before the law).’ However, although in theory a
corollary of the first dimension, some courts seldom advert to this second dimension.
So, in Belgium, the other side of the coin, uniform treatment of persons, or groups, in
different situations, is far more rarely analysed as discrimination.
3.3. Weight to be attached to equality
Whichever dimension of the Aristotelian conception is applied, an important question
to be determined is the weight that is attached to the idea of equality in comparison
with other competing considerations. In particular, the issue has become one of how
strictly the courts will scrutinize arguments from the State that are put forward to limit
60
1979 3 JSCC, pages 295-333.
61
Case C-127/07, Sociéte Arcelor Atlantique et Lorraine and Others v Premier mistre, Ministre de
l’Ecologie et du Developpement durable and Ministre de l’Economie, des Finances et de l’Industie
[2008] nyr in ECR.
62
Decision in case No. 2000-07-0409, available on http://www.satv.tiesa.gov.lv/upload/2000-07-
0409E.rtf, last accessed 4 June 2009.
63
K 6/89.
14 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
equality, or create exceptions to equality? Justifications differ considerably on this
question. Some courts apply a highly deferential test to their government’s purported
justifications for inequality. In this context, we can identify the approach as being one
of essentially only considering whether the actions of the public authority were
rational. That appears to be the most common approach taken by constitutional and
other courts interpreting general constitutional equality guarantees. In Estonia, for
example, the Supreme Court has held that the legislator must be granted a wide
margin of appreciation.64
The Supreme Court has established that only arbitrary
differential treatment of two persons or groups of persons in analogous situations is
considered as a violation of the general right to equality. An unequal treatment can be
regarded as arbitrary if there is no reasonable cause for that. Thus, it is necessary to
check whether the legislator had a reasonable and appropriate reason to treat
comparable groups of persons unequally and whether unequal treatment was
proportionate in the narrow sense, i.e. it is necessary to weigh the objective of the
unequal treatment and the gravity of the unequal situation that has been created.65
The
ECJ seems to adopt a similar approach, as is illustrated by the Arcelor case, discussed
previously: a deferential approach to justifications is adopted whenever the EC
institutions have a significant margin of appreciation, and the area at stake requires
complex assessments and evaluation.
In other jurisdictions (though fewer in number) a stricter, more sceptical test is
applied to the assessment of justifications advanced by public authorities. Some
courts, such as those in Luxembourg, require that the disparity between categories of
individuals must be objective, justified, adequate and proportional to its objective. In
Poland, too, the test adopted is close to proportionality. Arguments advanced as
justifications for deviations from the rule of equal treatment should be relevant. They
must have a direct connection with the aim of the provision under scrutiny and
advance the achievement of this aim; in other words, the differentiation has to have a
rationally justified character. Second, they must be proportional, The weight of the
interests advanced by the differentiation should remain in appropriate proportion to
the weight of the interests sacrificed as a result of the unequal treatment. Third, the
means used must also be legitimate; they must remain connected with other
constitutional values, principles or norms that justify different treatment of similar
subjects, such as the principle of social justice.66
The differentiation of legal situation
of similar subjects has greater chances for its recognition as being in conformity with
the Constitution, if it remains in accordance with the principle of social justice or
serves for realization of this principle. It will be considered as unconstitutional if it
finds no support in the principle of social justice. In this sense the principle of equality
and social justice to a great extent overlap.67
In sum, we can see, therefore that we can
identify a spectrum of approaches, from highly deferential to highly sceptical, with
courts scrutinizing such justifications with considerable thoroughness.
In Germany, there has been a noticeable shift from a highly deferential test to one
that involves proportionality analysis. The Basic Law contains a general principle of
equality of all human beings before the law (Article 3(1)). In addition, there are
special guarantees of equality, such as equality of men and women (Article 3(2)(1).
64
Judgment of the Constitutional Review Chamber of the Supreme Court, No. 3-4-1-8-08,
30 September 2008, p. 20, available in English at: http://www.nc.ee/?id=991, last accessed
24 October 2009.
65
Ibid, p. 27, 32.
66
K 10/04, K 10/96.
67
K 10/96.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 15
Moreover, there are specific prohibitions of discrimination: Article 3(3)(1) prohibits
discrimination on grounds of sex, parentage, race, language, homeland and origin,
faith, or religious or political opinions, Article 3(3)(2) prohibits unfavourable
treatment of persons with disabilities, and Article 33(3), for historic reasons, explicitly
prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion in the access to public office.
Although the text of Article 3(1) only speaks of equality of all persons before the
law, it is settled case law of the Federal Constitutional Court that the principle of
equality is also addressed to the legislature, and in essence means that equal things are
treated equally, and unequal things unequal in view of that difference.68
In its earlier
case law, the Federal Constitutional Court used the test of arbitrariness
(Willkürformel) to determine whether there is a violation of the principle of equality
(Article 3(1)). Pursuant to this test, there is a violation of the principle of equality only
if there is no reasonable ground, emanating from the nature of things, or any other
intelligible reason for differentiation. The legislator or law enforcer infringes upon the
principle of equality if a group of cases is treated differently from another on
evidently irrelevant grounds. Over time, this guarded approach of the Federal
Constitutional Court found itself in stark contrast to the highly differentiated approach
of the Court’s jurisprudence with respect to freedom rights. In particular, the Court
found itself faced with the challenge of how to integrate the balancing method
developed for freedom rights, viz. the principle of proportionality, into a test for the
principle of equality.
The Court’s answer was the ‘new formula’ (neue Formel), according to which
there is a violation of the principle of equality if one group of norm addressees is
treated differently than another group of norm addressees, although the differences
between both groups is not of such kind and degree that could justify different
treatment.69
The purpose of the ‘new formula’ is to emphasise that finding an
infringement of the principle of equality is no longer only a question of self-evidence,
but also of constitutional balancing. Moreover, in the Court’s view, the principle of
proportionality determines the criteria for balancing, i.e. the requirements for finding
unequal treatment justified: They depend on the substance matter regulated and on the
criteria used for differentiation. The Court applies heightened scrutiny when different
groups of persons, and not just different sets of fact, are treated unequally. This
happens notably when the persons concerned cannot meet the requirements of a
provision or can do so only with great difficulty because the legal advantage in
question depends on person-related features that the individual cannot influence.
What is of particular interest is that, by judicial interpretation, the Court has
increased its scrutiny in certain circumstances. The Court’s scrutiny increases the
more the criterion for differentiation approaches one of the criteria listed in the
prohibition of discrimination pursuant to Article 3(3). In addition, the intensity of
scrutiny depends on the extent to which unequal treatment curtails the exercise of
freedom rights guaranteed by the Basic Law. In effect, therefore, the Court adopts a
test of stricter scrutiny where the second or third meaning of equality is engaged.
3.4. Conflicts between the first conception of equality and other conceptions
The next sections in this Report discuss various other approaches to equality, in which
criteria of likeness, difference, acceptability and justification are set out with greater
specificity than in the approach to equality-as-rationality. However, it is important to
bear in mind that in those jurisdictions that have a general equality as rationality
68
BVerfGE (Decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court) vol. 49, p. 148, and vol. 98, p. 365.
69
BVerfGE (Decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court) vol. 55, p. 72.
16 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
approach embedded in their constitutional jurisprudence, there is the danger that the
more specific approaches to equality and discrimination that we shall identify
subsequently come to be seen not as simply as extensions of this broad equality
provision, but as competitors, in which the other approaches to equality are seen,
indeed, as contrary to these other conceptions of equality.
France provides an important example of this, in several respects. In a decision of
1982,70
the Constitutional Council rejected as unconstitutional a proposal to set a limit
of 75 per cent on the proportion from either sex for the lists of candidates at municipal
elections. The Council considered that quotas were contrary to the constitutional
principle of equality and universality that prohibited any division into categories of
the electors and of the people to be elected. (Since then, the Constitution has been
modified several times and Article 1 now states that ‘statutes shall promote equal
access by women and men to elective offices and posts as well as to professional and
social positions’, but the debate continues. More recently, there have been debates on
the divergence between what is viewed as a French conception of equality and the
European conception of discrimination. These debates can be illustrated by a recent
resolution of the Senate of 17 November 2008.71
In this the Senate expressed its
strong opposition to the adoption of the European Commission’s proposal for a
directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons
irrespective of religion, belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Two points were
especially criticized. First, the Senate believed that the Commission proposal did not
distinguish between discrimination and equal treatment and that this confusion could
lead to ‘communitarianism’, i.e. the creation of communities of people with specific
rights. This communitarianism is seen as contrary to the fundamental principles of the
French Republic that support a universalist approach, with the definition of common
principles applying to everybody. The proposed directive, it was said, would only
protect certain persons and not all citizens.
Other European jurisdictions appear to demonstrate, however, that there is no
necessary tension between, say, having a general equality clause of the type we have
been examining, and more substantive conceptions of equality. Although the Polish
Constitutional Court, for example, also acknowledges that in some circumstances
affirmative (privileged) treatment for women could interfere with the principle of
equality (K15/99), the starting point for the scrutiny of such affirmative action should
be the constitutional imperative to assure equality between women and men. Only in
this context would it be appropriate to consider the question of whether the legal
differentiation of the situation of women in contrast to men would constitute
discrimination against men contrary to the meaning of the general principle of
equality. Such actions may be supported by social arguments, in particular attempting
to ensure that women achieve de facto equality in employment. Then such a
differentiation may be justified by such constitutional values as the general principle
of social justice and special principle of equality between women and men. A
different approach may be applied however in cases when the law puts a man in a
more privileged position. In today’s Poland there are no grounds for accounting men
70
Décision n°82-146 DC.
71
Sénat, Résolution européenne sur la proposition de directive du Conseil relative à la mise en
oeuvre du principe de l'égalité de traitement entre les personnes sans distinction de religion ou de
convictions, de handicap, d'âge ou d'orientation sexuelle, 17 November 2008, note S. Laulom,
Revue Droit du Travail, January 2009, p.8. European resolutions adopted by the Senate do not have
any binding legal effect. They are political statements, presenting the Senate’s point of view to the
Government before negotiating draft legislation.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 17
to a weaker social group.72
The Court has also recognised, however, that in certain
circumstances a supposed privilege for women may become a real restriction of their
rights depriving them of equal opportunities.
Given this approach, then, it is not surprising that in certain circumstances there is
a preference for using a general principle of equality, rather than an antidiscrimination
principle restricted to protection on certain specified grounds. For
example, a right ‘to equal pay for equal work’ for workers in general has been
recognized by the Cour de Cassation since 1996.73
It could be defined as an equal
treatment principle in the field of wage because it obliges the employer to pay the
same wage to all workers in the same position. There is no need here to prove that the
difference of treatment is based on a prohibited ground; the difference of treatment is
enough to presume the breach of the principle of equal treatment. Of course, it is
possible for the employer to justify this difference. The first case recognizing the
principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ illustrates the difference between the concepts
of equal treatment and of non-discrimination. The case was about a woman
pretending that she was paid less than other women. Clearly, the principle of nondiscrimination
based on sex could not apply in this situation but it was possible to
apply the principle of equal treatment. There are much more cases on the application
of the equal treatment principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ than on discrimination.
As a consequence, commentators have concentrated on the application by the
tribunals of this general principle and, for example, on the reasons considered by the
Cour de Cassation as sufficient to justify unequal pay but not on the specificities of
cases on sex equality.74
4. Meanings of equality and non-discrimination II: equality as protective of
prized public goods
In the second meaning, the non-discrimination principle becomes an adjunct to
the protection of particularly prized ‘public goods’. Such ‘prized public goods’
should in principle be distributed to everyone without distinction. In the
distribution of the ‘public good’, equals should be treated on a nondiscriminatory
basis, except where differences can be justified. The justification
standard to be satisfied is often stricter in this context than is the case where
‘equality as rationality’ is concerned.
In the context of this second meaning, the focus is on the distribution of the public
good, rather than the characteristics of the recipient. The courts will scrutinize public
authorities’ (less frequently, private bodies’) actions in a more intense way than under
the first meaning. A key issue, in this context, is what ‘public goods’ are of sufficient
importance to attract heightened equality-based scrutiny. One example is in the
context of EC law, where the ‘prized public goods’ in issue are found in those
provisions of the Treaty furthering the economic integration of the Community.
Another important category of ‘public goods’ are fundamental rights.
72
(K 15/97, K 35/99, Supreme Court III ARN 93/95).
73
Cass. Soc. 29 October 1996, J. Pélissier, A. Lyon-Caen, A. Jeammaud, E. Dockès, Les grands
arrêts du droit du travail, Dalloz 2008.
74
See for example, Ch. Radé, ‘Variations autour de la justification des atteintes au principe ‘à travail
égal, salaire égal’, Droit Social 2009, p. 399.
18 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
4.1. EC law
A rough and ready distinction can be made between two overlapping, but relatively
separate, functions of EC equality law. First, there are those aspects of EC equality
law, operating primarily in the economic sphere, where equality has particular
importance in furthering the market-integration goals of the Community. This
function is often regarded as the dominant function of equality in EC law. A crucial
role is played, in this respect, by the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of
nationality. In this model, out-of-state goods, services and capital must enjoy the same
treatment as their in-state equivalents. Equal treatment in the host state indeed applies
also to individuals who have the nationality of another Member State. Although
internal market law also developed along the lines of the market access model,75
the
problem of discrimination on grounds of nationality remained one of the driving
forces behind integration.
In some contexts, the principle of equal treatment demonstrates that the goals of
the Community go beyond economic goals and extend to the protection of the
European social model, defined to include equality considerations. In this context,
equality is seen either as important intrinsically or (at least) as important for noneconomic
integration. In this second category, for example, we might place the
provisions regarding sex discrimination. We shall consider this aspect of Community
equality in the next section.
As was already observed above (Section 2.2.2.1), there has been a clear shift
towards including the social dimension as well in the context of what is believed to be
the domain of economic integration. The role of equality as a means of serving market
integration implies that the entitlements or interests provided for in the Treaty and EC
legislation are being ‘distributed’ without discrimination. The entitlements and
interests are encapsulated in the Treaty freedoms, i.e. in Articles 39(2) (workers), 43
(establishment), 50 and 54 (services), 56 (capital), and nowadays also in areas beyond
market integration, in the provisions regarding EU citizenship. They include, inter
alia, access to work or self-employment, but also access to social security and
assistance, to housing facilities, to education, to maintenance grants, and even to the
use of languages in court. In fact, a rich panoply of various aspects that contribute to
the integration of a person within the host state is now covered by the prohibition of
discrimination on grounds of nationality. Finally, apart from nationality
discrimination, there are also other provisions that are closely related to market
integration, such as the provisions regarding non-discrimination between producers
and consumers.
According to Community case law, both the principle of equality and the
prohibition of discrimination require that, save where there is an objective
justification, comparable situations must not be treated differently, and different
situations must not be treated in the same way. Since equality and non-discrimination
are defined in the same terms, it is not surprising that the distinction between the two
is often blurred.76
We shall return to this distinction in Chapter 5, when discussing the
third meaning of equality. It is, however, important to note that, as in the case of
Article 14 ECHR, to be considered below, the approaches may swing between the
second and third meaning, that is, sometimes the focus is on equal treatment in
75
In this model, national rules preventing or hindering market access are unlawful, whether they
discriminate or not.
76
Also the Community legislature seems to regard the two concepts as equivalent, using them
interchangeably.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 19
relation to the public goods, and sometimes it is an approach that considers the issue
through the prism of the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of nationality.
In so far as equality is defined as requiring that different situations must not be
treated in the same way, unless such treatment is objectively justified, this implies that
‘equal’ treatment can in fact lead to discrimination. There may be situations that are
so different that treating them ‘equally’ may amount to discrimination. The
appropriate approach then is to treat those cases differently, in other words to
differentiate between them.77
This case law adopts a substantive understanding of
equality and is in fact the first step on the way to understanding positive action as a
means by which equality can be achieved, rather than as a derogation from the
principle of equal treatment. We shall discuss this meaning of equality below, in
Section 5.4.
Finally, since the Treaty freedoms and the prohibition of discrimination on
grounds of nationality are, in particular, central to the functioning of the internal,
integrated market, they are treated by the ECJ as fundamental principles, or as
concepts akin to fundamental rights. For that reason, they are subjected to heightened
or even very strict judicial scrutiny. In any case, it is important to note that the
extensive litigation on the fundamental Treaty freedoms and the prohibition of
discrimination have influenced and still influence the interpretation and application of
discrimination on other grounds.
4.2. Human rights as the primary public good in issue in Member States
The more influential example, in the context of how Member States have articulated
and adopted this approach to equality in the area of social discrimination, is to be
found in Article 14 ECHR, where the ‘prized public goods’ are fundamental human
rights. Indeed, this is also a characteristic approach to the role sometimes accorded
equality and non-discrimination in international human rights law more generally.78
Before turning to consider Article 14, and EC law, it is important to consider the
extent to which this approach is also found in the constitutional traditions of the
Member States.
4.2.1. Constitutional provisions
This approach to equality and non-discrimination can be seen clearly in the
constitutional texts of several of the EC states. In Bulgaria Article 6(2) provides: ‘(…)
There shall be no privileges or restriction of rights on the grounds of race, nationality,
ethnic self-identity, sex, origin, religion, education, opinion, political affiliation,
personal or social status or property status.’ Article 28(2) of the Constitution of
Cyprus provides: ‘Every person shall enjoy all the rights and liberties provided for in
this Constitution without any direct or indirect discrimination against any person on
the ground of his community, race, religion, language, sex, political or other
convictions, national or social descent, birth, colour, wealth, social class, or on any
ground whatsoever, unless there is express provision to the contrary in this
Constitution’. The Czech Constitution includes the concept of equality and the
principle of non-discrimination. Article 3 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and
Freedoms reads: ‘Everyone is guaranteed the enjoyment of her fundamental rights and
77
Cf. Case C-61/77 Commission v. Ireland [1978] ECR 00417; and Case C-340/89 Vlassopoulou v
Ministerium für Justiz, Bundes- und Europaangelegenheiten Baden-Württenmberg [1991] ECR
I-02357.
78
See M Bossuyt, L’interdiction de la discrimination dans le droit international des droits de
l’homme (Bruylant, 1976) 68–69.
20 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
basic freedoms without regard to gender, race, colour of skin, language, faith and
religion, political or other conviction, national or social origin, membership in a
national or ethnic minority, property, birth, or other status.’ Article 91 of the Latvian
Constitution provides in part: ‘Human rights shall be realised without discrimination
of any kind’.79
Section 12(2) of the Slovakian Constitution currently reads as follows:
‘Fundamental rights and freedoms are guaranteed to everyone in the territory of the
Slovak republic regardless of sex, race, colour of skin, language, belief and religion,
political affiliation or other conviction, national or social origin, nationality or ethnic
origin, property, descent or other status. No one may be harmed, preferred or
discriminated against on these grounds.’ The Slovenian Constitution (Article 14)
provides that everyone shall be guaranteed equal human rights and fundamental
freedoms irrespective of national origin, race, sex, language, religion, political or
other conviction, material standing, birth, education, social status, disability or any
other personal circumstance. Even where it is not apparent from the text of the
Constitution, the courts may adopt a similar approach, as we have seen is the case in
Germany.
4.2.2. Judicial interpretation of this conception
In the Czech Republic, this conception of equality was considered in case Pl. ÚS
22/92, where the Constitutional Court rejected ‘an absolute understanding of equality’
and stated that ‘the equality of citizens must not be understood as an abstract
category, but as a relative equality, a principle included in all modern constitutions.
(…) The principle of equality has been so understood as constitutionally accepted
aspects of differences between subjects and rights. If there is any inequality, the
inequality for example in social rights must reach an intensity that questions at least in
one or another aspect of the principle of equality in itself. This happens especially
when along with the principle of equality, another fundamental right is broken.’ In
cases Pl. ÚS 16/93, Pl. ÚS 36/93, Pl. ÚS 5/95, and Pl. ÚS 9/95, the Constitutional
Court maintained this position. The Supreme Administrative Court stated in its
decision on so-called Czecho-Slovak pensions regarding the equality principle: ‘the
principle of equality in rights is not protected in itself, but only in connection with a
breach of another fundamental right which is guaranteed by constitutional laws or by
international agreements on human rights. A prohibition of discrimination is normally
interpreted from two points of view: the arbitrariness of the legislator, making a
difference between groups and their rights, must be excluded; secondly the aspects of
differences must be acceptable. Therefore, any approach taken by the legislator must
be based on objective and reasonable reasons and there must be respective adequacy
between the objective and instruments to reach such an objective.’80
In Slovakia, the
Constitutional Court has held that ‘The provision of Article 12(2) of the Constitution
has a general, declaratory character, rather than a character of a fundamental human
right and freedom. Its application may be invoked only in connection with protection
of particular fundamental rights and freedoms set out in the constitution.’81
The relevance of attaching the idea of equality or discrimination to fundamental
rights is that this is likely to give rise to a somewhat stricter approach to assessing the
legitimacy of justifications advanced for breaches of the equality/non-discrimination
guarantee. In Hungary, the Constitutional Court distinguishes between fundamental
79
Unofficial translation in English is available on http://www.ttc.lv/export/sites/default/docs/LRTA/
Likumi/Constitution.doc, last accessed 4 June 2009.
80
6 Ads 62/2003-31.
81
Award in Case No. I. ÚS 17/99.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 21
rights and non-fundamental rights with respect to the permissibility of differentiation.
In cases of fundamental rights the ‘necessity and proportionality’ test applies, like in
other cases of limitation of fundamental rights. Regarding non-fundamental rights the
action is unconstitutional only if it is ‘arbitrary’, and thus violates the dignity of the
person. An action would be arbitrary where there is no ‘reasonable’ or ‘constitutional’
ground for the action taken (offering little certainty about the concept). So too, in
Latvia, the Constitutional Court considers that Article 91 contains two mutually
closely connected principles – the principle of equality (effectively the first
conception of equality, discussed above, and the principle of non-discrimination,
effectively the second conception of equality. Both principles prohibit different
treatment of persons in similar situations or demands different treatment of persons in
different circumstances and allows different attitudes to persons who are in equal
circumstances, if there is an objective and reasonable ground. However, an important
distinction between the two principles is that there is much less discretion for
justification of restriction on the basis on non-discrimination criteria, than in the
context of the general equality right.
However, in some jurisdictions it appears to be unclear to what extent a stricter
scrutiny of justifications will take place in the context of this second conception. In
Slovenia, in the first case,82
the Constitutional Court decided that Article 101 of the
old ERA was inconsistent with the Constitution. Article 101 determined that the
fulfilment of the conditions for a full old-age pension, which was according to the
pension legislation more advantageous for the retirement of women, is a reason for ex
lege termination of an employment relationship and therefore discriminatory against
women. The court held that although the legislation may specify the reasons for the
termination of an employment relationship, it must not interfere with constitutional
rights. Freedom of work, free choice of employment and access to every work
position under equal conditions mean that, in the context of the termination of an
employment relationship, equal conditions must apply to everyone irrespective of the
personal circumstances. For differentiation between individual legal subjects to be
permitted, a non-arbitrary, substantiated reason must be demonstrated. However,
when deciding whether the principle of equality has been violated the Constitutional
Court uses one of the constitutional tests (standard or strict scrutiny test), and judging
from the constitutional practice of recent years, the Constitutional Court is not always
consistent when using one of them in the cases of unequal treatment.83
4.3. Article 14 ECHR
The primary function of Article 14, essentially, is in protecting the distribution of the
other human rights protected by the ECHR.84
There are several features of the
meaning of discrimination under Article 14 that are of particular importance.85
The
approach that the ECtHR has taken to the meaning of discrimination has been to
consider the question of whether a breach of Article 14 has occurred by seeking
answers to several interrelated questions.
82
Decision of the Constitutional Court U-I-49/98, from 25 November 1999.
83
B. Flander Pozitivna diskriminacija, Ljubljana, Fakulteta za družbene vede 2004 pp. 91.
84
This is also accomplished, more generally, by a requirement that where the limits on particular
rights are in issue, especially the interpretation of paragraph 2 of Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, an
equality test will be applied to assess the justification put forward. See, e.g., Lustig-Prean and
Beckett v UK (2000) 29 EHRR 548; Smith and Grady v UK (2000) 29 EHRR 493.
85
See, in general, Sandra Fredman, ‘Equality Issues’ in Basil S. Markesinis, The Impact of the Human
Rights Bill on English Law: The Clifford Chance Lectures Vol 3 (OUP, 1998) 111–132.
22 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
The non-discrimination requirement in Article 14 is not ‘free-standing’ but is
dependent on other rights in the ECHR being engaged. That does not mean that
another right has to have been breached. As the ECtHR held in Schmidt v Germany:86
‘Article 14 complements the other substantive provisions of the Convention and the
Protocols. It has no independent existence since it has effect solely in relation to ‘the
enjoyment of the rights and freedoms’ safeguarded by those provisions. Although the
application of Article 14 does not presuppose a breach of those provisions — and to
this extent it is autonomous — there can be no reason for its application unless the
facts at issue fall within the ambit of one or more of the latter.’
An example may help to illustrate the point. In the Schmidt case, although the
ECtHR found that there was no violation of Article 4(3)(d) prohibiting forced or
compulsory labour, the Court went on to hold that an obligation imposed on men (and
only on men) to serve in the fire brigade (or pay a financial contribution in lieu of this
service) amounted to a breach of Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 4(3)(d).
There may be a violation of Article 14 considered together with another article in a
case where there would be no violation of that other article taken alone.87
It is
sufficient that the facts of the case fall ‘within the ambit’ of the rights guaranteed by
the Convention. Where that is not the case, however, then a claim of discrimination
will not succeed. Further, where the state has gone beyond what is necessary under
the substantive articles of the ECHR in the provision of benefits or protection of
rights, it must do so in a manner that is not discriminatory.
This question whether persons have been treated differently to other persons in
similar circumstances may appropriately be seen as comprising two elements: Was
there different treatment as respects the substantive right in issue between the
complainant on the one hand and other persons put forward for comparison (the
chosen comparator) on the other? Were the chosen comparators ‘in an analogous or
relevantly similar situation’88
to the situation of the complainant?
In several respects the prohibited grounds of discrimination are considerably
broader than those found in domestic anti-discrimination legislation. We shall see, in
the next section, that the requirement that the difference in treatment be on a ground
set out in Article 14 allows the courts to interpret Article 14 as encompassing the third
(status-based) approach to equality.
Differences in treatment are subject to a test of ‘reasonable and objective
justification’. There are several elements in this test: (1) Has the state established the
justification?89
(2) Does the difference in treatment have a legitimate aim or aims?
(3) If so, (a) is the objective sufficiently important to justify limiting a fundamental
right; (b) are the measures designed to meet the objective rationally connected to it;
and (c) are the means used to impair the right or freedom no more than is necessary to
accomplish the objective? In applying the test of objective and reasonable
justification, the ECtHR has made clear that states ‘enjoy a margin of appreciation in
assessing whether and to what extent differences in otherwise similar situations justify
a different treatment in law’.90
86
18 EHRR 513 at [22].
87
Abdulaziz v UK Series A No. 94 (1985) EHRR 471.
88
Stubbings v UK (1996) 23 EHRR 213.
89
Pine Valley Developments Ltd v Ireland [1992] 14 EHRR 319 at [64].
90
Stubbings v UK Application 22083/93 (1996) 23 EHRR 213.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 23
5. Meanings of equality and non-discrimination III: non-discrimination,
particular characteristics, and the ‘grounds’ of discrimination
According to the third meaning of equality, it is not permitted to make a
distinction on the basis of a group characteristic that is considered to be
irrelevant or otherwise unacceptable, unless there is a justification. In this type
of case, the group characteristics that may not lead to a distinction, such as
nationality, race and sex, have often been set out in the text of the legal
instrument (such as the Treaty, a Constitution, or other legislation). In this
context, the justification of the difference in treatment will, in general, be
scrutinized with considerable thoroughness, and the standard to be satisfied will
often be high, but that standard may differ depending on the group
characteristic under consideration.
In the third meaning of equality and non-discrimination, attention shifts from the
importance of the ‘prized public good’ (particularly the human right in issue) and
turns instead to the association between a limited number of particular characteristics
(such as race, gender, etc.) and the discrimination suffered by those who have, or who
are perceived to have, those characteristics. An example that illustrates the contrast
between the second and third conceptions of equality and non-discrimination is
provided in the case of Victoria Cassar v The Malta Maritime Authority, in which the
Constitutional Court of Malta held that the Constitution guaranteed protection from
discriminatory treatment in an explicit, autonomous and independent manner,
separately and distinctly from any other freedom, in light of which, discrimination is
capable of forming the basis of an action without the need to reference any other
fundamental right in order to achieve protection from discriminatory treatment.
The third meaning should also be contrasted with the first meaning discussed
above, equality as rationality. Indeed, some states use different words to describe
these two understandings. A feature of Finnish terminology (which is also found in
Norway and Sweden) is that equality covers two notions, tasa-arvo and
yhdenvertaisuus. Yhdenvertaisuus was the constitutional term, originally referring to
formal equality; the etymology of the word is a reference to yksi (one) and vertaisuus
(comparison, equation) and thus to the classical Aristotelian understanding of
equality. Tasa-arvo was traditionally the term used for political and social equality, its
etymology consisting of tasa (even, equal) and arvo (worth). Tasa-arvo was adopted
as the term used in the context of sex/gender equality.91
Anti-discrimination law
proper, Tasa-arvolaki (Act on Equality between Women and Men), was introduced
first against sex discrimination and only two decades later against other grounds.
Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC were transposed by Yhdenvertaisuuslaki in
2004. Since then, the term tasa-arvo has become fixed as a term that refers to gender
equality, while yhdenvertaisuus is used as to other prohibited grounds of
discrimination.
The difference between them is also illustrated by the Spanish Constitutional
Court’s jurisprudence on Article 14 of the Spanish Constitution. The Constitutional
Court understands Article 14 to contain two different parts. In its first point there is a
general clause on the equality of all Spaniards before the law. This is a classic
91
It is worth noting that as Finnish as a language does not have gender, the term is difficult to
translate. Sukupuoli covers both terms, but when there is a need to specify, gender is generally
translated into sosiaalinen sukupuoli or ‘social sex’.
24 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
example of the first meaning of equality discussed above. The general principle of
equality is understood as the citizens’ subjective right to enjoy equal treatment. It is
binding on the public authorities and requires that matching factual circumstances be
treated identically in their legal consequences. Introducing differences between them
must be sufficiently and reasonably justified, and the consequences must not be
disproportionate. The difference in treatment can be lawful provided it is objectively
justified and is judged to be proportional.92
In addition, the Constitutional Court
interprets the second part of Article 14CE as comprising the third conception of
equality/non-discrimination. Article 14(2) prohibits a number of specific causes of
discrimination. This explicit prohibition is due to there being historically deep-rooted
differences that have placed certain groups of the population in positions that are not
only disadvantageous, but also contrary to human dignity.93
Likewise Article 12(1) of
the Estonian Constitution provides as follows: ‘Everyone is equal before the law. No
one shall be discriminated against on the basis of nationality, race, colour, sex,
language, origin, religion, political or other opinion, property or social status, or on
other grounds.’ The first sentence of Article 12(1) provides a general right to equality;
the second sentence provides a right against discrimination on the grounds listed in
the Constitution.
The courts will scrutinize public authorities’ (and others’) actions in a more
intense way than under the first meaning. In the Spanish case, for example, the
distinctions between the sexes can only be used exceptionally as a criterion for
distinguishing treatment between men and women.94
In Estonia, it is generally
acknowledged that the third conception requires a higher standard of protection than
the general equality clause. The right not to be discriminated against can only be
restricted if it is necessary to achieve certain general constitutional objectives or if it is
necessary for the protection of the constitutional rights of others. However,
restrictions of the right to equal treatment in this third conception have to be in
compliance with the stricter principle of proportionality.95
So too, in Germany, the
Federal Constitutional Court has integrated the criteria listed in Article 3(3)(1) (sex,
parentage, race, language, homeland and origin, faith, or religious or political
opinions) into the general principle of equality (Article 3(1)). In its view, the
prohibition of discrimination on these grounds had the purpose of excluding their use
as criteria for finding that there were two different situations that, consequently, could
be treated differently. In other words, the prohibition of discrimination restricted the
state authorities’ margin of appreciation whether there was a comparable situation.
The use of the grounds listed in Article 3(1)(1) could not be justified under any
circumstance, or at the utmost could be justified only under particular circumstances,
in particular for reasons contained in the constitution itself (verfassungsimmanente
Gründe).
In the third meaning, the harm lies in the use made of particular characteristics to
affect the allocation of a wide range of opportunities, which may or may not reach the
importance of particularly prized public goods, but where the use of those
92
According to the Constitutional Court’s repeated doctrine, the assessment of proportionality should
refer to the connection between the measure taken, the result and the intended purpose (TC
judgments: 22/1981, of 2 July; 49/1982, of 14 July; 2/1983, of 24 January; 117/1998, of 2 June).
The Constitutional Court interprets Article 14 CE following the doctrine of the European Court of
Human Rights in connection with Article 14 ECHR.
93
Constitutional Court’s Judgment 128/1987, of 16 July.
94
STC 175/2005, of July 4, 2005.
95
Eesti Vabariigi Põhiseadus Kommenteeritud väljaanne (Constitution of Estonia with
Commentaries) Teine väljaanne (Second edition), 2008, p. 143.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 25
characteristics is unacceptable. This meaning is essentially aimed at preventing statusharms
arising from discrimination on particular grounds. This is sometimes expressed
as reflecting a concern with human dignity. We shall see this approach developing in
the context of Article 14 ECHR (with the emphasis given to the greater need to justify
distinctions on certain grounds) and also in the development of a limited antidiscrimination
jurisprudence under Article 3 ECHR.
Although we have seen from the Maltese, German, and Spanish examples that
several jurisdictions interpret their constitutions as also including this third
conception, the most developed examples of this approach are to be found in domestic
legislation and the EC directives discussed above. Indeed, EC anti-discrimination law,
prohibiting discrimination on grounds of gender, race, age, sexual orientation,
disability, religion, and belief, is a classic example of this third meaning of equality.
The legislative approaches that single out particular grounds of discrimination as
subject to scrutiny are all characterized, in contrast with those legal regimes discussed
above, by the specificity and detail of the legislative provisions.
There are many common features of the EC and domestic statutory approaches
and the interpretation of this legislation. All focus on promoting a version of equality
defined as the absence of ‘discrimination’. All include specific and general defences
and exceptions to the non-discrimination principle. Most include provisions to ensure
that some forms of positive or affirmative action are not to be regarded as unlawful.
All provide a remedy for the resolution of individual grievances and protection for
those involved in litigation. Many have provisions specifying the nature of the burden
of proof in adversarial proceedings. Some have provisions allowing associations and
organizations to pursue claims for equal treatment. All provide for sanctions to be
imposed against those found to have discriminated.
EC equality law has played a significant indirect role in encouraging the
emergence of this relatively harmonized approach across areas covered by EC law
and those covered only by domestic law. This is due to the requirement under EC law
that domestic legislation in the field where a directive operates, and which is
considered as implementing that directive and satisfying the Member State’s
obligations to implement the directive should be interpreted ‘as far as possible’ to
conform to the directive’s obligations. This has been particularly influential in the
context of gender discrimination, where this approach had a significant effect in
expanding the interpretation of sex discrimination legislation not covered by EC law.
In addition, where domestic anti-discrimination legislation shared the same concepts,
such as the concept of discrimination itself, EC approaches to the interpretation of that
concept in the gender context significantly influenced the domestic interpretation of
the concept in the race discrimination legislation before it was subject to the EC Race
Directive, on the basis that domestic anti-discrimination legislation should be
interpreted consistently across the different grounds.
5.1. Grounds of discrimination subject to heightened degree of scrutiny
5.1.1. Grounds in domestic and EC legislation
Domestic and EC legislation providing for the prohibition of discrimination on certain
particular grounds covers a range of situations and activities in both the private and
public spheres. In this legislation, domestic and EC law specify that particular
characteristics of persons should not be used as the basis of the distribution of
opportunities. Here, specific grounds of discrimination (gender, race, ethnic, etc.) are
prohibited. In EC law, the idea of ‘status-harms’ first began with the prohibition of
26 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
discrimination on the basis of gender and nationality, and was broadened considerably
in the new Article 13 directives.96
In British domestic law, the prohibition of racial
discrimination was first, followed by gender and disability, and then by religion and
belief, sexual orientation, and age.
Existing domestic anti-discrimination legislation prohibits discrimination, in
certain areas of activity, on a wide variety of specific grounds, including race, colour,
ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex (including pregnancy), gender reassignment,
being married, trade union activity, fixed-term working, part-time working, suffering
under a disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief, and age. EC law now
prohibits discrimination on the grounds of nationality, sex, race, disability, religion or
belief, sexual orientation, and age. These are the grounds that attract heightened
scrutiny under domestic and EC law. There has, however, been significant debate
about the appropriate meaning of several of the key terms, such as the meaning of
‘racial’ and ‘ethnic’, ‘sex’ and ‘disability’.
A caveat needs to be entered here regarding the higher degree of scrutiny in EC
law. As was pointed out above, in relation to the general principle of equality, the
Court accepts that where the Community legislature has a broad discretion and its
action involves political, economic and social choices and complex assessments, the
ECJ’s review is not very strict.97
Comparable considerations may also apply in
relation to national law: in those areas where the national authorities and/or
legislatures have a wide margin of discretion (e.g. social security), the test applied
may be more lenient than in other areas (e.g. rules governing dismissals.98
5.1.2. Grounds subject to heightened scrutiny under ECHR
Although, as we have seen, the approach under Article 14 ECHR is, substantially at
least, one that promotes the second meaning of equality, in some respects an
interpretation of Article 14 is emerging that supports the third approach to equality.
The latter occurs primarily in the context of considering whether an objective
justification has been established. The ECtHR requires the state in certain
circumstances to present particularly convincing reasons justifying the difference in
treatment in order to be acceptable. Some grounds of discrimination are considered to
be particularly serious, requiring a higher degree of justification than others and this
approach has also been applied by domestic courts. The ECtHR appears to apply a
two-level standard of scrutiny, with differentiations based on gender and race
appearing to be given such heightened scrutiny. Thus the Court has stated that the
advancement of gender equality is a major goal of states that are parties to the
Convention, and very weighty reasons would need to be advanced to justify a
difference of treatment on grounds of sex.99
Other grounds of discrimination, such as
96
By ‘status-harm’, we mean the type of harm that results from being associated with a group defined
by a particular characteristic, such as race or gender.
97
Cf. Case C-25/02 Rinke v Ärztenkammer Hamburg [2003] ECR I-08349 and Case C-444/93
Megner and Sheffel v Innungskrankenkasse Vorderpfalz [1995] ECR I-4741 (briefly discussed
subsequently in Section 5.3.6.
98
Cf. also the broadly formulated justifications of discrimination on grounds of age, laid down in
Article 6 of Directive 2000/78. However, this did not prevent the ECJ from scrutinizing the
application of this provision by a Member State in Case C-388/07 Age Concern England v
Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform [2009], not published yet.
99
Abdulaziz v UK (1985) EHRR 471 at [78]. See also Schuler-Zgraggen v Switzerland (1993)
16 EHRR 405 at [67]; Burghartz v Switzerland (1994) 18 EHRR 101; Schmidt v Germany (1994)
18 EHRR 513 at [27]; Van Raalte v Netherlands (1997) 24 EHRR 503 at [39]; Wessels-Bergervoet
v Netherlands (2004) 38 EHRR 37 at [49].
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 27
religion,100
nationality,101
illegitimacy,102
and sexual orientation103
may also attract a
similar high degree of justification to survive scrutiny.
Article 3 ECHR104
also demonstrates that certain grounds of discrimination will
be subjected to heightened scrutiny under the ECHR. The application of Article 3 to
discrimination issues began in the report by the European Commission on Human
Rights in East African Asians v UK,105
in which the Commission found that
discrimination based on race could amount to degrading treatment. Since then, the
ECtHR has reiterated that discrimination may breach Article 3, under certain
conditions.106
In Abdulaziz v UK, although the Court held that racial discrimination
could amount to a breach of Article 3, there was no violation in this case because the
differences in treatment complained of (allegedly based on race) ‘did not denote any
contempt or lack of respect for the personality of the applicants and that it was not
designed to, and did not, humiliate or debase (…)’.107
In Smith and Grady v UK, although the Court was willing to extend the coverage
of Article 3 to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,108
it held that
the discrimination must attain a minimum level of severity that will be assessed taking
into account all the circumstances of the case, such as the duration of the treatment
and its physical or mental effects. The Court continued: ‘treatment may be considered
degrading if it is such as to arouse in its victims feelings of fear, anguish and
inferiority capable of humiliating and debasing them and possibly breaking their
physical or moral resistance. Moreover, it is sufficient if the victim is humiliated in
his or her own eyes.’109
5.2. Approaches to coverage
5.2.1. EC and domestic legislation
Unlike under the first and second approaches discussed in previous sections, the third
approach often has a significantly different approach to coverage. Unlike under the
first approach, it does not apply to all public authorities in respect of all their
activities, but only to those specified in the relevant legislation. Unlike under the
second approach, it does not apply as a penumbra of all major areas of rights, but
(again) is limited only to those areas of activity (some of which would not be
considered as involving ‘rights’ under the ECHR) specifically included in the
legislation. In another respect, of course the approach taken under this third approach
is considerably broader in scope, covering both public and private sector actors
operating in those areas covered, whereas to a considerable extent the first and second
approaches apply only to the public sector.
100
Hoffmann v Austria (1993) 17 EHRR 293.
101
Gaygusuz v Austria (1997) 23 EHRR 364 (ECtHR indicated that it would require very weighty
reasons to justify differential treatment based exclusively on nationality).
102
Marckx v Belgium (1979) 2 EHRR 330; but cf. McMichael v UK (1995) 20 EHRR 205.
Smith and Grady v UK (2000) 29 EHRR 493 at [90]; Lustig-Prean and Beckett v UK (2000)
29 EHRR 548 at [82], but see Fretté v France [2003] 2 FCR 39.
104
Prohibiting ‘torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’.
105
(1973) 3 EHRR 76, EComHR.
106
Abdulaziz v UK (1985) EHRR 471 at [90]–[91]; Smith and Grady v UK (2000) 29 EHRR 493 at
[120]–[121].
107
Abdulaziz v UK (1985) EHRR 471 at [90]–[91]. See also Moldavan v Romania (No. 2) (2007)
44 EHRR 16.
108
Smith and Grady v UK (2000) 29 EHRR 493 at [121].
109
Ibid at [120]. See also Cyprus v Turkey (2002) 35 EHRR 30 at [302]–[311] (Greek Cypriots in
Northern Cyprus subjected to discrimination amounting to degrading treatment).
28 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
5.2.2. Rationae personae
EC and domestic anti-discrimination law has become increasingly complex as to who
can be the claimant and who can be the respondent in discrimination cases. In the
employment context, for example, in addition to employers, respondents can include
trade unions, those who aid unlawful discrimination, those who instruct others to
discriminate, and those who act as qualifying bodies. Nor is discrimination on
particular grounds confined to less favourable treatment on the ground of the status of
the claimant alone. The characteristic of another person with whom the claimant is
associated may be a ground of less favourable treatment of the claimant, and therefore
amount to discrimination.110
5.2.3. Rationae materiae
In general, the approach taken to the question of coverage has been to begin with a
restricted list of activities subject to this non-discrimination principle, and gradually to
expand the types of activities covered. Thus, the usual approach has often been to
begin by including employment and then to add other areas such as housing,
education, and goods, facilities and services. This practice is reflected in the pattern of
areas included or excluded under currently applicable domestic anti-discrimination
law.
The Race Directive, the Equal Treatment Directive, and the Employment
Discrimination Directive each prohibit discrimination by ‘all persons, as regards both
the public and private sectors, including public bodies’, in relation to employment, the
conditions for access to employment, self-employment, and occupation; access to all
types and to all levels of vocational guidance, vocational training, advanced
vocational training, and retraining; employment and working conditions, including
dismissals and pay; and membership of and involvement in an organization of
workers or employers, or any other organization whose members carry on a particular
profession, including the benefits provided for by such organizations. The Race
Directive and the recast Equal Treatment Directive, in addition, prohibit
discrimination in some other areas such as social protection, including social security
and healthcare; social advantages, education, and access to and supply of goods and
services.
5.3. Meaning of discrimination in this third context
One of the most important developments that is characteristic of the third approach to
equality has been the development of the meaning of unlawful discrimination. This is
also one of the most conceptually difficult issues involving judicial interpretation. We
have seen earlier that, under the first conception of equal treatment, equality has two
dimensions: treating likes alike, and treating differences differently. Failure to treat
likes alike, or treating different situations the same are both breaches of the equal
treatment principle, unless there are objective justifications demonstrated.
5.3.1 Treating likes alike: direct discrimination
Direct discrimination usually corresponds with the less favourable treatment of a
person on grounds of a prohibited characteristic.
110
Cf. Case C-303/06 Coleman v Attridge Law and Steve Law [2008] ECR I-05603.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 29
The approach that has been taken in legislation has been to include a prohibition of
‘direct’ discrimination, which reflects the requirement that likes should be treated
alike. A common formula is used in the domestic anti-discrimination law to describe
direct discrimination: the less favourable treatment of a person on the grounds of a
prohibited characteristic. The Race Directive and the Employment Discrimination
Directive also prohibit direct discrimination. This ‘shall be taken to occur where one
person is treated less favourably than another is, has been or would be treated’ on the
prohibited grounds. Similarly, under the Gender Recast Directive, direct
discrimination occurs ‘(…) where one person is treated less favourably on grounds of
sex than another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation.’
While equality under the first meaning often operates on the basis of assumptions
about the ‘likeness’ of people, non-discrimination provisions usually make explicit
the grounds or characteristics that may not in principle be used to treat people less
favourably, or accord them different treatment. In other words, while in an equal
treatment approach, the focus is on ‘similarity’ of the situations and ‘difference’ in
treatment, from an anti-discrimination perspective the adverse treatment accorded the
alleged victim is grounded on specified prohibited characteristics.
To an extent, these two approaches are sometimes blurred in the ECJ case law.111
The definition of direct discrimination would seem to contribute to this confusion by
making a reference to the ‘comparable situation’. On the other hand, according to ECJ
case law, both the principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination require
that, except where there is an objective justification, comparable situations must not
be treated differently and that different situations must not be treated in the same way.
The prohibition of discrimination is considered as an expression of the general
principle of equality that operates upon the assumption that the groups concerned are
in the same position. Where this presumption turns out not to apply, or where there is
only an apparent difference in treatment, the ECJ may engage in testing the
comparability.
This was, for instance, the case in Birds Eye Walls,112
which concerned
discrimination between male and female workers regarding payment of a bridging
pension. Under the occupational pension scheme in question, women between the age
of 60 and 65 received a smaller bridging pension than men, because they qualified for
a state pension from the age of 60. At first sight, this appeared to constitute direct
discrimination on grounds of gender, which would normally require examination of
whether it could be justified. However, the Court adopted a different approach and
observed that the principle of equal treatment, like the general principle of nondiscrimination,
presupposes that the men and women to whom it applies are in an
identical situation. In this case, it was found that this was not the case. Because of the
differences in the retirement age for men and women (65 and 60 respectively), under
the state pension system, their financial circumstances were different. In other words,
there was a difference in treatment of situations that were different, and so there was
no question of discrimination contrary to Article 141, and no need to go further to
consider whether a justification would be open in a case of direct discrimination.113
111
Examples of such blurring are: Case C-279/93, Schumacker [1995] ECR I-225; Case C-107/94,
Asscher [1996] ECR I-3089; Case C-87/99, Zurstrassen [2000] ECR I-3337; Case C-249/97,
Gruber [1999] ECR I-5295; and Case C-220/92, Österrechischer Gewerkschaftsbund [2004] ECR
I-5907.
112
Case C-132/92, Birds Eye Walls [1993] ECR I-5579.
113
Cf. also Case C-342, Gillespie [1986] ECR I-475; and, in relation to indirect discrimination, Case
C-537/07, GomezLimon, 16 July 2009.
30 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
5.3.2. Differing domestic and EC approaches to ‘treating differences differently’
The idea that different cases should be treated differently has frequently been
incorporated into anti-discrimination law in four differing ways: in the concept
of ‘indirect discrimination’, in the area of ‘pregnancy discrimination’, in the
context of ‘reasonable accommodation’ in disability discrimination, and in
protections for ‘positive action’, more generally.
The legislative approach taken to the requirement to treat differences differently has
given rise to a set of additional approaches. Four approaches have been adopted to the
problem of how to identify the criteria of difference that mean that different treatment
should be accorded. These are: the development of the concept of indirect
discrimination, the development of a separate category of pregnancy discrimination,
the development of the concept of ‘reasonable adjustment’ in disability discrimination
law, and the development of positive action as lawful in limited circumstances where
it would otherwise breach the prohibition of direct discrimination.
These approaches have been seen by some commentators as pursuing
‘substantive’ as opposed to ‘formal’ equality. They have argued that ‘treating
differences differently’, including through the use of these approaches is a step in the
direction of a richer understanding of equality, since social, cultural, and other
realities are able to be fully taken into account. So, instead of ignoring de facto
differences between, for example, the position of women and men, these approaches
encourage us to focus on them, and take them fully into account. In Germany, for
example, by using the principle of equal rights of men and women as the yardstick for
indirect discrimination, the Court is seen as having recognised the concept of
substantive equality: it is not sufficient that men and women are treated equally by the
letters of the law, i.e. that the law does not use sex as a criterion for differentiation.
What is also necessary is de facto equality, i.e. equality in social reality. It can only be
achieved when the legislator (and the Court in its scrutiny) looks at the real effects of
a law on men and women.
However, these methods constitute, at least to some extent, somewhat different
approaches to ‘treating differences differently’. Where indirect discrimination has
been established, in practice a respondent is required to alter the discriminatory
practice for all comers. In the context of pregnancy discrimination, an approach is
taken concentrating on permitting the pregnant woman to be treated differently, rather
than generalizing the treatment that is accorded her to everyone else. Where the
absence of a ‘reasonable adjustment’ in the disability context is established, the
respondent is not required to alter the approach for everyone either, but only for the
person adversely affected by that practice. Under positive action, the approach is to
focus on the need to modify certain requirements only for members of the
disadvantaged group. In the remainder of this Report, we do not consider further the
issues of pregnancy discrimination or reasonable accommodation.
5.3.3. Interpretation of direct discrimination: intention, comparators, and justification
We turn, now, to consider particular aspects of the meaning of discrimination,
beginning first with the concept of ‘direct discrimination’. One issue that arises is the
extent to which a discriminatory motive or intention is regarded as necessary in order
to establish that a person is to be regarded as discriminating. In the Czech Republic,
for example, in a case concerning different pensionable age for men and women, the
facts were that the women's pensionable age was reduced if a woman brings up at
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 31
least one child and was progressively reduced according to the number of children the
women bring up. This reduction of pensionable age could not be claimed by men, not
even in a case where the man brought up his children alone, for example after divorce
or after the death of the mother. The Constitutional Court in this issue stated that this
measure ‘follows a legitimate objective. The differentiation based on sex and number
of children brought up does not represent a breach of the principle of equality and is
not an expression of the bad will of the legislator.’ In contrast, in the United
Kingdom, in the James case, the highest court held that discrimination on the basis of
pensionable age was directly discriminatory, where pension ages were different for
men and women, irrespective of the intention of the body alleged to be discriminating.
A second important issue in the interpretation of direct discrimination is the
problem of comparison. The role of comparators is an issue on which there is a degree
of uncertainty. In Estonia, the definition of direct discrimination under the Gender
Equality Act and Equal Treatment Act means that a person is given less favourable
treatment on the grounds listed than another person is, has been, or would be treated
in a comparable situation. The notion of a ‘comparator’ was adopted directly from EC
law and did not derive from the constitutional non-discrimination clause. However, it
is unclear so far what the requirement of the comparator means in practice, as there
has been no relevant case law.
The third issue that appears to distinguish countries’ approaches to the meaning of
direct discrimination is whether direct discrimination is able to be justifying under a
general justification provision. Under the EC Directives, direct discrimination is
generally prohibited, unless a specific exception applies. In other words, it is
generally the case that there is no room for a general justification argument to be
made of the type that exists, for example, in cases of indirect discrimination. General
justifications of this type are permissible in EC law in the context of age
discrimination. In some other areas, the position is unclear. It is not clear, for
example, how far direct discrimination on grounds of nationality is permissible.114
National legislation generally follows the approach of specifying the particular
circumstances in which direct discrimination is permitted, and several specifically
prohibit general justification defences in direct discrimination. In Cyprus, the Law on
Equal Treatment for Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training115
also provides that ‘direct discrimination as opposed to indirect discrimination, is not
required to be justified’. The Ombudsman has underlined that ‘direct discrimination’
as opposed to ‘indirect discrimination’ is not subject to justification.116
In Malta, the Equal Treatment in Employment Regulations, entirely devoted to
implementing the relevant EC Directives, define the principle of ‘equal treatment’ as
the absence of direct and indirect ‘discriminatory treatment’, and define
‘discriminatory treatment’ as: ‘(…) any distinction, exclusion, restriction or difference
in treatment, whether direct or indirect, on any of the grounds mentioned in regulation
1(3) which is not justifiable in a democratic society (…)’.117
This appears to allow the
possibility of justifying direct discrimination. However, in the Case of Victoria
Cassar v The Malta Maritime Authority, the Constitutional Court held that
114
Cf. Case C-73/07, Nicolas Bressol and Others and Céline Chaverot and Others v Gouvernment de
la Communauté française [2009], pending, at [128] ff. On the somewhat different approach in the
context of equal pay, see below in Section 5.3.4.
115
Law No. 205(I)/2002 Directive 76/207/EEC as amended by Laws No. 191(I)/2004, 40(I)/2006,
176(I)/2007, 39(I)/2009 Directive 2006/54/EC.
116
File No. A.K.I 4/2007. Complaint for dismissal of a temporary female civil servant.
117
Ibid. Article 2 (1).
32 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
discrimination is found when comparable situations or comparable persons are treated
differently, and there is no objective and reasonable justification for the difference in
treatment. However, such justification shall not hold if it is based entirely or mainly
upon considerations of race, place of origin, political opinion or sex, or where such
measures are not proportionate to the objective justification.
In other countries, the issue is, or has been, subject to considerable debate. In
Belgium, for example, the main conceptual clash between EC and Belgian domestic
case law and academic commentary concerned the possibility or impossibility of
offering objective justifications for direct discrimination. An uneasy compromise was
achieved in the three Acts of 10 May 2007: when the disputed matter falls within the
scope of EC law, any ‘direct distinction’ is necessarily a ‘direct discrimination’ and
may not be justified. In Finland, the issue was also debated. The Parliament
Constitutional Committee noted that the proposed formulation of the definition of
discrimination in a proposed Non-Discrimination Act118
only permitted indirect
discrimination to be justified discrimination, and considered it problematic that
acceptable reasons could not be offered for direct discrimination. The Constitutional
Committee required that the definition be changed and justification allowed in both
cases. This was because the concept of discrimination in Finnish constitutional law
permitted the justification of direct discrimination. The Parliament Employment and
Equality Committee stated, however, that the EC Directives to be implemented only
allowed an open justification of indirect discrimination (as opposed to specific more
narrowly tailored exceptions). The Employment and Equality Committee did not
consider it necessary to change the definition of discrimination in the Government
Bill,119
and the Act was enacted with the definition intact. The Parliament added a
statement, however, that it expected the Government to prepare a reform bill
amending the Non-Discrimination Act so as to be ‘based on the Finnish system of
fundamental rights’ such that it ‘brings similar remedies and sanctions to all
prohibited grounds of discrimination’. Also in its report on an amendment of the Act
on Equality in 2004, the Constitutional Committee noted that direct discrimination
can be justified from the point of view of the Constitution.120
5.3.4. Equal pay
Equal pay legislation often does not use the terms direct and indirect discrimination
and a specialized conceptual scheme is established. In Community law, the main
norm laid down in Article 141(1) of the Treaty is the principle that men and women
should receive equal pay for equal work. The latter includes work of equal value.
However, 141(2) also refers to ‘equal pay without discrimination based on sex.’ The
legislation in Member States often provides for equal pay between men and women
by giving a woman121
the right to equality in the terms of her contract of employment
where she is employed on like work to that of a man, or work rated as equivalent to
that of a man, or work of equal value to that of a man. Any term of the woman’s
contract that is less favourable to her than the same term in the man’s contract is
improved. The concept of ‘equal pay for work of equal value’ requires an equal pay
comparison between a man and a woman even where they are not doing the same, or
similar jobs, but where they are said to be doing work of equal value, as measured
under an analytical job-evaluation approach. This has allowed equal pay litigation to
118
PeVL 10/2003 vp – HE 44/2003 vp.
119
TyVM 7/2003 vp - HE 44/2003 vp.
120
PeVL 40/2004.
121
The legislation applies equally to men, allowing equivalent comparisons between men and women.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 33
tackle such notorious problems as the under-valuation of women in female-dominated
workforces. In Iceland, in a landmark case in 2004, a woman who was head of
department within the institute of social welfare claimed that her job was of equal
value as that of a chief technician working for the same municipality. According to a
job evaluation scheme conducted within the municipality including these two
positions they got the same grade. The Supreme Court held that the local authorities
had not succeeded in proving that the woman’s pay was not different from those
holding similar positions within the municipality. In the Court’s view it had been well
substantiated that the two positions were comparable in essence and form and that the
woman had been discriminated against in the meaning of the GEA.
In the majority of equal pay cases, indeed, the central question is whether the
work performed by a female worker is ‘equal’, or of ‘equal value’, to work performed
by a male worker, and whether there are differences in the salary received by male
and female workers. However, such comparisons are not always necessary. The ECJ
has also held that in some cases, pay discrimination may be detected by legal analysis
as such, without making comparisons, because the discrimination may arise directly
from legislative provisions, collective bargaining agreements, occupational pension
schemes,122
and general terms and conditions of employment.123
Like in national law,
Community law has not proven to be sufficiently effective in challenging differences
in pay due to market segregation. On the one hand, under Community law, the
prohibition of pay discrimination does not require the existence of an actual
comparator; a mere hypothetical comparison is sufficient to meet the legislative
standard. This is important, because it is not always possible or easy to find an actual
comparator. On the other hand, the ECJ has also held that the alleged discrimination
must have its origin in one single source.124
Such a requirement limits the use of
hypothetical comparisons, for instance comparisons across sectors and undertakings,
not only in relation to pay, but also, for instance, in relation to labour conditions.
5.3.5. Article 14 ECHR and treating differences differently
The difficulties with only regarding discrimination as unlawful if it is direct
discrimination has (slowly) come to be recognised by the European Court of Human
Rights. In our consideration of Article 14 ECHR previously, we considered situations
where complainants argue that they have been treated differently from those similarly
situated. What of the situation where the complainant argues that he or she has been
treated the same, but he or she should have been treated differently? It is most often in
the context of what we have termed ‘status-harms’ that the concept of equality
requiring differences to be treated differently commonly arises in the Article 14
context.
The ECtHR has appeared to take somewhat different approaches over the course
of its history, with two (arguably inconsistent) strands of case law being apparent. In
one strand of the jurisprudence, in Abdulaziz,125
the ECtHR rejected claims of
discrimination based on an argument that immigration restrictions that had the effect
of disadvantaging one racial group more than another amounted to racial
122
Note that pay includes occupational pensions.
123
Case C-43/75 Defrenne v Société anonyme belge de navigatin aérienne Sabena [1976] ECR 00455,
Case C-262/88 Barber v Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Group [1990] ECR I-01889.
124
Case C-320/00 Lawrence and Others v Regent Office Care Ltd, Commercial Catering Group and
Mitie Secure Services Ltd [2002] ECR I-07325; Case C-256/01 Allonby v Accrington & Rossendale
College, Education Lecturing Services, trading as Protocol Professional and Secretary of State for
Education and Employment [2004] ECR I-00873.
125
Abdulaziz v UK (1985) EHRR 471.
34 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
discrimination. The Court appears to have adopted an approach to the meaning of
discrimination under Article 14 that concentrated on the intention of the state, rather
than the effect of the policy. On the basis of this case, some commentators concluded
that there was no claim available for indirect discrimination under Article 14.126
However, in a more recent strand of the case law, beginning in Thlimmenos v
Greece,127
an effects test of sorts has emerged. In that case, the applicant had been
prevented from becoming a chartered accountant because he had been convicted of
the offence of refusing to wear a military uniform. His refusal had been on the ground
that he was a Jehovah’s Witness. He complained that the law excluding persons
convicted of such offences from appointment as chartered accountants did not
distinguish between persons convicted as a result of their religious beliefs and persons
convicted on other grounds. The ECtHR held that Article 14 was engaged and that
Greece violated his right not to be discriminated against in the enjoyment of his right
under Article 9 ECHR by failing to introduce appropriate exceptions to the rule
barring persons convicted of a felony from the profession of chartered accountants.
After noting that ‘[t]he court has so far considered that the right under art 14 not to be
discriminated against in the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed under the convention
is violated when states treat differently persons in analogous situations without
providing an objective and reasonable justification’, the Court went on to hold ‘that
this is not the only facet of the prohibition of discrimination in art 14. The right not to
be discriminated against in the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed under the
convention is also violated when states without an objective and reasonable
justification fail to treat differently persons whose situations are significantly
different.’ The full implications of this aspect of the case have yet to be fully
explored; so far, few complaints based on this approach have been accepted by the
Court.128
However, its legitimacy has been reiterated.129
The ECtHR considers that the concept of discrimination as outlined in
Thlimmenos encompasses ‘indirect discrimination’, and presumably with it the more
technical aspects of ‘comparators’ and ‘differential impact’.130
Domestic courts have
also accepted that Article 14 includes a prohibition of indirect discrimination. There
has, however, been little discussion of the precise application of indirect
discrimination within Article 14 principles and there is still caution as to how this is to
be applied. It is not at all clear that a test exactly like that required by the other
domestic and EC law will be applied.
126
Sandra Fredman, Discrimination Law (OUP, 2002), at 108, 116-8 thought not, citing Abdulaziz.
127
(2001) 31 EHRR 15.
128
See Coster v UK (2001) 33 EHRR 20; Chapman v UK (2001) 33 EHRR 18; Beard v UK (2001) 33
EHRR 19.
129
Hoogendijk v Netherlands (2005) 40 EHRR SE22; DH v Czech Republic (2008) 47 EHRR 3; cf.
the joint dissenting opinion of Judges Türmen, Tsatsa-Nikolovska, Spielmann and Ziemele in Evans
v the United Kingdom (2008) 46 EHRR 34. But see Fretté v France [2003] 2 FCR 39, partly
concurring opinion of Judge Costa, joined by Judges Jungwiert and Traja: ‘although in the
Thlimmenos case, in which I sat, the Court reached a unanimous decision, I do wonder whether it
may have gone a little far on that occasion, and I note that the judgment was delivered before the
opening for signature of Protocol No. 12—which I view as a key factor’.
130
Hoogendijk v Netherlands (2005) 40 EHRR SE22 at [2]; DH v Czech Republic (2008) 47 EHRR 3
at [184]. See also Jordan v United Kingdom (2003) 37 EHRR 2 at [154].
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 35
5.3.6. Indirect discrimination in the EC directives and domestic legislation
Indirect discrimination prohibits practices that formally apply to all from having
the effect of disadvantaging individuals of particular protected groups, unless
those practices can be shown to be objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the
means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.
The Race, Equal Treatment, and Employment Discrimination Directives all prohibit
indirect discrimination. This occurs ‘where an apparently neutral provision, criterion
or practice would put persons (of racial or ethnic origin) (having a particular religion
or belief, a particular disability, a particular age, or a particular sexual orientation) at a
particular disadvantage compared with other persons, unless that provision criterion
or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that
aim are appropriate and necessary (…)’. The Gender Equality Directive (recast)
defines indirect discrimination in the same words but refers to the sex of the person
concerned. Indirect discrimination occurs ‘where an apparently neutral provision,
criterion or practice would put persons of one sex at a particular disadvantage
compared with persons of the other sex, unless that provision, criterion or practice is
objectively justified by a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving that aim are
appropriate and necessary. Domestic legislation has largely adopted the EC formula.
The adoption of the concept of indirect discrimination has three important
consequences. First, it shifts attention from the perpetrator to the victim, that is, it
focuses attention primarily on the individual who alleges discrimination rather than on
the person alleged to be discriminating. Second, it reduces the opportunities for
techniques to be adopted to avoid successful challenge if the respondent was engaged
in direct discrimination; this is particularly the case where the approach taken to the
interpretation of direct discrimination is one that concentrates on the intentions or
motives of the person alleged to be directly discriminating. The concept of indirect
discrimination renders this interpretation less likely to prevent a finding of
discrimination because even if the allegation of direct discrimination is unsuccessful,
an allegation of indirect discrimination may succeed. Third, it shifts attention from the
victim conceived as an individual to the victim conceived as part of a larger social
group of which he or she is a member; claims of direct discrimination are
individualistic to a greater degree than claims of indirect discrimination. Legally,
these developments meant that an ‘objective’ view had to be taken by the courts and
tribunals as to what the relevant social group consisted of, rather than being satisfied
to rely on the perpetrator’s subjective view of the social group which was all that was
necessary in the context of direct discrimination.
Like in the case of direct discrimination, indirect discrimination may involve a
comparative. In the context of indirect discrimination, the comparison is between the
effect of the contested practice on two (or more) objectively defined social groups. In
Slovakia, the definition in Article 2a(3) of the Antidiscrimination Act provides that
‘Indirect discrimination is an outwardly neutral regulation, decision, order or practice
that which favours one person over another person; if such regulation, decision, order
or practice is objectively justified by enforcement of a legitimate interest and is
adequate to and required for the achievement of such interest, it does not constitute
indirect discrimination.’ The definition does not include the group principle contained
in the EC Directives and replaces it with an individual principle (an outwardly neutral
regulation, ruling, order or practice which favours one person over another person).
Where, however, a group-based approach to comparison is adopted, the issue of
36 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
comparators becomes a central issue, particularly in defining the group adversely
affected and the comparator group less adversely affected. What constitutes the
relevant comparator groups gives rise to considerable dispute.
A final, crucial, contrast between direct and indirect discrimination is the
approach taken to justification. In the context of direct discrimination, as was already
discussed above (Section 5.3.3), the approach taken in drafting legislation prohibiting
direct discrimination, rather than allowing a general justification defence, is usually to
specify as precisely as possible the particular situations in which direct discrimination
is not unlawful. In indirect discrimination, however, the possible justifications for
adopting a condition or requirement that has an adverse effect on particular groups are
next to impossible to list comprehensively. The alternative approach, then, has been to
draft a general justification provision allowing the user of the challenged practice to
show that it was nevertheless ‘justified’ or a proportionate means of achieving a
legitimate aim.
Where a differential impact is established, then it is for the person seeking to use
such a policy or practice to justify it on acceptable grounds, and general assertions of
the contested policy’s utility will not be enough. So, for example, there has been
much litigation contesting differential treatment between part-time and full-time
workers, in many cases leading to decisions striking down adverse treatment of parttime
workers as indirectly discriminatory against women because in practice part-time
workers in several Member States are mostly women.131
Because of the breadth of
coverage of EC law, the approach now applicable in domestic law allows the concept
of indirect discrimination to be used to contest legislative as well as employeroriginated
policies,132
and indirect discrimination deriving from provisions in
collective agreements.133
The courts allowed arguments to be developed justifying
unequal pay, or policies with an adverse impact, on the basis that one group was
better organized than another, or on the basis that one group was more competitive in
the market place than another.134
On other occasions, the courts have held that a particular trend of decision should
be limited to prevent it interfering in a sphere of social policy it considers to be
legitimately left to government. We can see examples of this in some of the decisions
upholding ‘justifications’ advanced for social security legislation alleged to be
indirectly discriminatory.135
In Megner136
the Court observed that, in the current state
131
See Case 170/84 Bilka-Kaufhaus GmbH v Karin Weber von Hartz [1986] ECR 1607; Case
C-243/95 Hill v Revenue Commissioners [1998] ECR I-3739; Case C-1/95 Gerster v Freistaat
Bayern [1997] ECR I-5253; Case C-100/95 Kording v Senator Für Finanze [1997] ECR I-5289;
Case C-309/97 Angestelltenbetriebsrat der Weiner Gebietskrankenkasse v Weiner Gebietskrankenkasse
[1999] ECR I-2865.
132
See Case C-355/93 Enderby v Frenchay Health Authority and Secretary of State for Health [1993]
ECR 673; Case C-400/93 Dansk Industri [1995] ECR I-1275.
133
See Case C-317/93 Nolte v Landesversicherungsanstalt Hannover [1995] ECR I-4625; Case
C-444/93 Megner and Sheffel v Innungskrankenkasse Vorderpfalz [1995] ECR I-4741; Case C-8/94
Laperre v Bestvurcommissie Brevepsazken in de Provincie Zuid-Holland [1996] ECR I-273; Case
C-280/94 Van Damme and Ozturk [1996] ECR I-625; Case C-167/97 Seymour-Smith and Perez
[1996] ECR I-623.
134
Case 96/80 Jenkins v Kingsgate (Clothing Productions) Ltd [1981] ECR 911; Case 170/84 BilkaKaufhaus
GmbH v Karin Weber von Hartz [1986] ECR 1607; Case C-355/93 Enderby v Frenchay
Health Authority and Secretary of State for Health [1993] ECR 673.
135
Case C-317/93 Nolte v Landesversicherungsanstalt Hannover [1995] ECR I-4625; Case C-444/93
Megner and Sheffel v Innungskrankenkasse Vorderpfalz [1995] ECR I-4741; Case C-8/94 Laperre
v Bestvurcommissie Brevepsazken in de Provincie Zuid-Holland [1996] ECR I-273; Case C-280/94
Van Damme and Ozturk [1996] ECR I-625.
136
Ibid.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 37
of EC law, social policy is a matter for the Member States. ‘Consequently, it is for the
Member States to choose the measures capable of achieving the aim of their social
and employment policy. In exercising that competence, the Member States have a
broad margin of discretion.’137
The Court continued: ‘It should be noted that the social
and employment policy aim relied on by the German Government is objectively
unrelated to any discrimination on grounds of sex and that, in exercising its
competence, the national legislature was reasonably entitled to consider that the
legislation in question was necessary in order to achieve that aim.’
Domestic courts have differed significantly on the extent to which they will
accept justifications put forward in the context of adjudicating claims of indirect
discrimination. In Austria, for example, the Supreme Court138
held that where a
particular legislative provision affected men significantly more adversely than women
and therefore constituted a form of indirect discrimination of male insured persons, no
objective justification was established, as the aim of the legislator to save the federal
budget could not justify discrimination on grounds of gender. …’139
In Hungary, on
the other hand, the Supreme Court turned down the claim of two visually impaired
persons who claimed discrimination by their bank, for not being able to use their cash
card in machines accessible to the visually impaired. The Bank’s defence was that
modifying the cash withdrawal machines would be too expensive. The Supreme Court
turned the claim down. The Court classified the case as one of alleged indirect
discrimination, finding that the cash withdrawal machines without any aid were
‘neutral’ conditions of taking the services. The disproportionate disadvantage of
visually hindered clients was acknowledged but the financial burden of correcting the
situation was found sufficient as justification.140
In the context of what can constitute an acceptable justification, the terminology
that is used to describe the idea of justification in the drafting of the legislation may
be particularly important in certain countries. In Denmark, for example, under the
directives ‘indirect discrimination’ may be justified by a legitimate (in the Danish
version of the directives legitim) aim if the means of achieving that aim are
appropriate and necessary. There are, however, two different definitions of ‘indirect
discrimination’ in Danish equality legislation: one in the Equal Treatment Act and the
Equal Pay Act, where it deviates from the underlying directives by using the word
saglig [sound and proper] instead of legitim [legitimate], and a different one in the
Equality Act using the word legitim [legitimate] in accordance with the underlying
directive. Under Danish labour law, working conditions will normally be considered
saglige [sound and proper] if they result from collective bargaining and can be seen as
an expression of what the labour market organisations on both sides regard as
reasonable. ‘Legitimate aim’ in the Directive is an EC law concept which does not
vary according to what the parties to collective agreements find acceptable. The use of
the Danish word saglig [sound and proper] instead of legitim [legitimate] leaves the
impression that the parties to collective agreements have freedom to decide what is
legitimate.
137
On the margin of discretion and the consequences it may have for deciding whether discrimination
has occurred, see above at 3.3, 4.3, and 5.1.1.
138
Judgment 28 June 2001; 10ObS43/01y; 10ObS150/01h; 10ObS64/04s.
139
Supreme Court, Judgment, 18 February 2003 10 ObS 18/03z.
140
Pfv.IV.21.144/2008/7, http://www.birosag.hu/engine.aspx?page=anonim, last accessed 24 October
2009.
38 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
5.4. Positive action and unlawful discrimination
Positive action measures include measures attempting to increase the
participation of particular groups defined in group terms, such as race, gender,
or disability, in those contexts in which those groups are regarded as under-
represented.
5.4.1. EC law
The main EC anti-discrimination directives provide that the principle of equal
treatment shall not prevent a Member State from taking specific measures ‘to prevent
or compensate for disadvantages linked to [the grounds covered by the directives]’.
The objective of permitting these measures is ‘ensuring full equality’. The ECJ has
also recognized that to achieve equality of opportunity between women and men it
will be necessary on occasion to go beyond the eradication of discrimination, and that
positive action may be appropriate even where it results in the preferential treatment
of the formerly disadvantaged group. Crucially, the ECJ seems to accept the
importance of permitting Member States the discretion to take positive action to
redress the societal discrimination which women (in particular) face, in order to lead
to genuine equality of opportunity in the future, although the exact parameters of
when this is permissible and within what constraints are the subject of continuing
consideration by the Court.141
Initially, the ECJ started to treat positive action and the provisions at stake as an
exception to the prohibition of discrimination, rather than as a justified form of
differentiated treatment, and it interpreted the relevant provisions quite strictly in the
Kalanke case.142
Gradually, however, the ECJ softened its position. In Lommers, for
instance, the ECJ did not refer to the principle that derogations to an individual right
should be interpreted strictly. Instead, it held that ‘… in determining the scope of any
derogation from an individual right … due regard must be had to the principle of
proportionality, which requires that derogations must remain within the limits of what
is appropriate and necessary in order to achieve the aim in view and that the principle
of equal treatment be reconciled as far as possible with the requirements of the aim
thus pursued. In two recent cases, the ECJ considered whether national provisions that
differentiated between male and female workers as regards pensionable age and
minimum length of service infringed the principle of equal treatment. The ECJ made
clear that such differences cannot be justified as a form of positive action; the
measures in issue could not be considered as measures that contribute to helping
women conduct their professional life on an equal footing with men.143
5.4.2. Positive action in domestic law
There is a wide variety of different provisions addressing the relationship between the
anti-discrimination principle and ‘positive action’ of various types, with the
141
Case C-450/93 Kalanke v Freie Hansestadt Bremen [1995] ECR I-3051; Case C-409/95 Marschall
v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen [1997] ECR I-6363; Case C-158/97 Badeck [2000] ECR I-1875; Case
C-407/98 Abrahamsson v Fogelqvist [2000] ECR I-5539; Case C-476/99 Lommers v Minister van
Landbouw Natuurbeheer en Visserij [2002] ECR I-2891; Briheche v Ministri de l’Interieur, Case
C-319/03, [2004] ECR I-8807; Griesmar v Ministre de l’Economie, Case C-366/99, [2001] ECR
I-9383.
142
Case C-450/93 Kalanke v Freie Hansestadt Bremen [1995] ECR I-3051.
143
Case C-559/07, Commission of the European Communities v. Hellenic Republic [2009]; Case C-
46/07, Commission of the European Communities v. Italy [2008].
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 39
overwhelming majority of states taking the opportunity provided by the EC Directives
to introduce an exception of certain types of positive action which would otherwise
constitute unlawful discrimination.
In Austria, Paragraph 8 of the Equal Treatment Act OJ I 66/2004 states that
measures aimed at the promotion of the de-facto equality between women and men do
not have to be regarded as sex-related discrimination. Due to a recent amendment of
this Act (OJ I 98/2008) this authorisation has been extended to all areas of the labour
market as well as the field of goods and services.
In Cyprus, the Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation Law 2004144
allows for more favourable treatment in employment aiming at the prevention and/or
balancing of disadvantages on the grounds of race or ethnic origin, religion or belief,
age, or sexual orientation and covers the issues of positive actions. Further, the Equal
Treatment between Men and Women in the Access to and Supply of Goods and
Services Law,145
implementing Directive 2004/113/EC, permits positive action in
order to provide equality between the sexes.
In Finland, the main provision that defines discrimination on the ground of gender
is Section 7 of the Act on Equality between Women and Men.146
The definition under
Section 7 is to be read in conjunction with Section 9, which contains exceptions to the
prohibition. The Section provides that ‘ the following shall not be deemed to
constitute discrimination based on gender (…) temporary, special actions based on a
plan and which are for the purpose of promoting effective gender equality and are
aimed at implementing the objectives of this Act.’
In Greece, the most comprehensive piece of gender equality legislation, Act
3488/2006 contains Article 4(4), which states, in line with Article 116(2) of the
Constitution, that positive measures do not constitute discrimination, and which does
not allow exceptions to the principle of equal treatment.
In Hungary, in compliance with the constitutional concept of equality, which is
restricted to non-discrimination, Act CXXV of 2003 on ‘Equal treatment and the
promotion of equal opportunity’ provides that the promotion of equal opportunity is a
defence for differentiation if it is aimed at the ‘elimination of inequality of
opportunities of a group based on objective assessment’.147
The differentiation has to
be provided either by a legal provision (an Act of the Parliament, or, on the basis of
authorization by an Act, in a governmental decree or collective agreement) or by the
constitution of a political party when the action taken is related to the election of
individuals to leading organs or the nomination of election candidates. A further
precondition is that there cannot be unconditional preference and the preferential
treatment cannot exclude the consideration of individual aspects.148
In Malta, specific provision is made in the relevant laws for ‘discriminatory’
measures that constitute positive action for the purpose of achieving substantive
equality for men and women.149
In Poland, Article 183b
(3) of the Labour Code states
explicitly that ‘does not infringe the principle of equal treatment in employment any
action undertaken during limited time having for the objective the equalization of
opportunities for all or only a considerable number of employees belonging to the
group formed on the basis of one or more grounds listed in Article 183a
(1) of the
144
Law No. 58(I)/2004 as amended by Law No. 50(I)/2007 and Law 59(I)/2004.
145
Law No. 18(I)/2008.
146
As amended by Act 232/2005.
147
Article 11(1).
148
Article 11.
149
Article 2 (4)(b) of the Equality for Men and Women Act, Chapter 456 of the Laws of Malta.
40 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
Labour Code, aimed at diminishing the factual inequalities in the field described in
this provision.’
There have also been several court decisions interpreting domestic provisions
relating to the extent to which positive action may be undertaken. So, for example, in
Bulgaria the Constitutional Court150
accepted that granting some privileges to some
vulnerable social groups was legitimate, when such privileges were socially necessary
and justified, provided that the principle of equality had priority. This interpretation
can be seen as justifying the adoption of affirmative action more generally. A
potential problem, however, is that this ruling focuses only on socially vulnerable
groups and the need for affirmative action for achieving gender equality is not
necessarily related to the kind of vulnerability envisaged in this decision. In another
decision, concerning gender quotas in university, the Court has held that affirming by
law the principle of tolerance which is at the basis of recognizing equal opportunities
for realization in society, presupposes, under certain conditions, that the opportunities
of the more represented sex may be limited, when this is justified by the objective of
the law.
The operation of positive action in the context of higher education was also the
context for a recent Swedish decision. In a judgment issued on 21 December 2006 the
Swedish Supreme Court held that the rules of admission to university studies in law at
one of Sweden’s universities constituted discrimination on the ground of ethnic
origin. The rules of admission at issue – which had been adopted by the university on
a trial basis in order to increase the ethnic and social diversity among its law students
– reserved ten percent of the available student places for students with both parents
born outside Sweden. Two applicants who had not been admitted to the study of law
at the university, but who would have been admitted if the rules had not provided for
more favourable treatment of persons with a non-Swedish background, brought an
action for damages against the Swedish State and asserted that they had been the
victims of discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin. The Swedish State contested
the claim and asserted, inter alia, that the less favourable treatment accorded to the
two unsuccessful applicants was justified by the interest sought to be achieved by the
relevant rules and thus fell under an explicit exception in the applicable Act.151
In its judgment, the Supreme Court152
stated that the assessment of whether the
type of positive action involved fell within the ambit of the relevant exception should
take as its point of departure that any significant exception from such an important
principle should be clearly set out in the relevant Act and be restrictively construed. In
the Supreme Court’s view, the relevant provision in the Equal Treatment of Students
at Universities Act could only be given the construction asserted by the State if it was
called for by the Act’s connection with other parts of the non-discrimination
legislation, or if it gained clear support from the Act’s travaux préparatoires. As no
such support existed, the Supreme Court held that the relevant exception did not
permit more favourable treatment on the ground of ethnic origin in situations where
applicants had different qualifications. The Supreme Court accordingly concluded that
the two claimants had been subjected to discrimination based on ethnic origin and
awarded them damages in the amount of 75,000 Swedish kronor (approximately
8 000 Euro) each.
150
Ruling No. 14 on Const. case No. 19.
151
Section 7, Sub-Section 2 in the Equal Treatment of Students at Universities Act.
152
Supreme Court, 21 December 2006, Case no. T 400-06.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 41
6. Meanings of equality and non-discrimination IV: equality as positive duties to
promote equality of opportunity and de facto equality
In the fourth meaning of equality, certain public authorities (and some private
actors) are placed under a duty actively to take steps to promote greater equality
of opportunity (the legal meaning of which are yet to be fully articulated) for
particular groups. In that sense, it is a further development of the third (‘statusbased’)
meaning. However, the concept of ‘equality of opportunity’ goes beyond
any of the concepts of discrimination characteristic of the previous meanings,
and the duty shifts from being essentially negative, to become a positive duty.
This positive duty may include a duty to engage in positive action, unlike under
the third meaning where it is often permitted to engage in positive action but not
required.
Under the fourth meaning of equality and non-discrimination, those to whom this duty
applies are under a duty to do more than ensure the absence of discrimination; the
body must also act positively to promote equality of opportunity between different
groups. So too, in some contexts, the obligation to take such action extends well
beyond the traditional areas of employment, education, and service provision to
extend throughout all of the body’s policy-making and activities.
6.1. EC obligation to promote gender equality
Barnard rightly observes that the gender, race and framework directives ‘do not focus
on the achievement of equality in the broader, more results-oriented, redistributive
sense’.153
However, there is some evidence of the emergence of the fourth meaning of
equality in EC law. Thus, for example, we have seen that Articles 2 and 3(2) EC
impose the objective of promoting equality between men and women in the
Community, with the latter providing that ‘[i]n all the activities referred to in this
Article, the Community shall aim to eliminate inequalities, and to provide equality,
between men and women.’154
Advocate General Stix-Hackl in Dory has interpreted
this as imposing an obligation on the Community actively to promote equality
between men and women.155
It remains to be seen how far this interpretation presages
the development of a more fully worked out fourth meaning of equality in EC law (at
least with regard to women’s equality).156
6.2. ECHR and positive obligations
There is a positive obligation on Member States, arising from Article 14 ECHR, to
take action going beyond addressing discrimination, but the scope of this obligation
remains uncertain. In Thlimmenos v Greece157
the Court considered that Article 14
encompassed ‘the right … not to be discriminated against in the enjoyment of the
rights guaranteed under the Convention … when States treat differently persons in
153
Catherine Barnard, The Changing Scope of the Fundamental Principle of Equality? (2001) 46
McGill LJ 955, 976.
154
Emphasis added. See also Article 23 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
155
Case C-186/01 Dory v Germany [2003] ECR I-2479 Opinion, paragraph 102.
156
See further, Revised Equal Treatment Directive, Directive 2002/73/EC, OJ 2002 L 269/15, Article
1(a) and 4th recital of Preamble. For further discussion, see Christa Tobler, Indirect Discrimination
(Intersentia, 2005), pp. 33–34; Sandra Fredman, ‘Changing the norm: Positive duties in equal
treatment legislation’ (2005) 12 Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 369.
157
[2000] ECHR 34369/97 at paragraph 44.
42 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
analogous situations without providing an objective and reasonable justification.’ The
court also considered that Article 14 is violated ‘when States without an objective and
reasonable justification fail to treat differently persons whose situations are
significantly different.’ In Stec v UK, the Court went somewhat further, stating that
‘in certain circumstances a failure to attempt to correct inequality through different
treatment may in itself give rise to a breach of the article.’158
This point was
specifically approved in DH and others v Czech Republic.159
Even though the
applicants’ allegation in that case was ‘not that they were in a different situation from
non-Roma children that called for different treatment or that the respondent State had
failed to take affirmative action to correct factual inequalities or differences between
them,’160
the Court appeared to envisage that this was a possible claim under
Article 14.
The implications of this approach are unclear. Thus far, the approach has had
most effect in cases concerning Roma (or ‘Gypsies’). In Chapman v United
Kingdom161
the Court considered that ‘[T]he vulnerable position of gipsies as a
minority means that some special consideration should be given to their needs and
their different lifestyle both in the relevant regulatory planning framework and in
arriving at the decisions in particular cases. To this extent there is thus a positive
obligation imposed on the contracting states by virtue of art 8 to facilitate the gipsy
way of life.’ So too, in DH, the Court considered that ‘the vulnerable position of
Roma/Gypsies means that special consideration should be given to their needs and
their different lifestyle both in the relevant regulatory framework and in reaching
decisions in particular cases.’ It also reiterated the view of the Court in Chapman v
UK162
that ‘there could be said to be an emerging international consensus amongst the
Contracting States of the Council of Europe recognising the special needs of
minorities and an obligation to protect their security, identity and lifestyle, not only
for the purpose of safeguarding the interests of the minorities themselves but to
preserve a cultural diversity of value to the whole community.’163
6.3. Domestic legislation and positive equality duties on public bodies
Putting aside the development of positive duties in EC law and under the ECHR,
considered above, and the issue of reasonable accommodation and accessibility duties
(these are considered below), positive duties are primarily placed on national public
bodies either as a result of a constitutional provision or as a result of by domestic
legislation. These aim at achieving some form of substantive equality.
There is, however, a noticeable difference emerging between the former socialist
countries of Central Europe, and the states of Western Europe. It seems relatively
clear that the former are considerably less likely to adopt the fourth conception of
equality than the latter. The explanation for this difference seems to lie in the adoption
of (and the disillusionment with) the substantive conception of equality that was
adopted by the former socialist states. Thus in Hungary, for example, prior to the
political changes, equality was promulgated as a notion of ‘social equality’, overtly
declaring its compensatory character on behalf of past ‘oppressed’ classes. It was
158
[2006] ECHR 65731/01 at paragraph 51.
159
App no. 57325/00, [2007] ECHR 57325/00 (ECtHR Grand Chamber), paragraph 175.
160
Paragraph 183.
161
10 BHRC 48, (ECtHR Grand Chamber), paragraph 96.
162
[2001] ECHR 27238/95 at paragraph 96. See also Connors v UK [2004] ECHR 66746/01 at [84],
27 May 2004).
163
DH, paragraph 181.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 43
carried out through a system of open discrimination, privileges and quotas on class
and political ground. Women were also put into positions based on quota
considerations and were also entitled to numerous employment privileges under the
label of ‘balancing their de facto inequality by legal inequality’. This system
frequently promoted less qualified (or non-qualified) persons to educational or job
opportunities and deeply discredited the idea of ‘substantive equality’ and positive
measures. The remainder of this section, therefore, discusses only countries that were
not previous socialist countries.
6.3.1. Constitutional and legislative requirements
In Austria, a new paragraph was added to Article 7 of the Federal Constitution of
1920 in 1998. This reads as follows: ‘The federal state, the regions and the
communities acknowledge the principle of de-facto equality of man and woman.
Measures aimed at the promotion of de facto equality between women and men in
particular such which are aimed at the elimination of existing inequalities are
admissible.’ This paragraph was added to the relevant provisions after political
discussion on the admissibility of quotas and other measures of affirmative action in
favour of women that was raised by the decision of the European Court of Justice in
the Kalanke case and other cases discussed above. The content and wording of the
paragraph was influenced by Articles 1 to 4 of the UN Convention on the Elimination
of all forms of discrimination of women (CEDAW), which in Austria was adopted on
level of constitutional law, and by Directive 76/207/EC. In 2008 the Federal
Constitution was amended further by a paragraph under which the federal state, the
regions and the communities are required to aim to achieve de-facto equality between
women and men when preparing their budgets. This new principle was implemented
by the Act on the Federal Budget that contains provisions requiring that the impact of
budgeting on the de-facto-equality between women and men has to be taken into
consideration, and measures aiming at achieving equality of women and men must be
designed.
In Belgium, a new Article 11bis has provided that Acts of the federal and federate
parliaments will ‘guarantee that women and men equally exercise their rights and
freedoms.’ Its purpose was to introduce an obligation of gender quotas within all
executive political bodies, as stated in the following provisions of Article 11bis.
In Finland, the real impetus for introducing anti-discrimination was the CEDAW
convention. This explains why the Act sets proactive duties to authorities, employers
and educational institutions. Most of these positive duties are rather programmatic,
however. The tradition of understanding equality law from the beginning was more
geared to promoting equality than prohibiting discrimination.164
The Supreme
Administrative Court has also decided many cases involving Section 4(a) on the
composition of public administration bodies and committee-type bodies exercising
public authority. This contains a quota rule of 40 percent women/men in many public
bodies, notably municipal boards. The contents of the quota provision have been
amended over time, and the interpretation of the rule has been a much contested issue.
The quota rule has had a considerable impact in administration.
In France, the Constitution was amended after the Constitutional Council decision
discussed above prohibiting positive action for women in the context of political
representation. Article 1 now states that ‘statutes shall promote equal access by
women and men to elective offices and posts as well as to professional and social
164
Ibid.
44 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
positions’. This allows the adoption of laws differentiating between men and women
in order to promote equality. In a decision of 2000,165
the Constitutional Council
accepted that the adoption of a law which prescribed obligations as to the presence of
candidates of both sexes in the composition of electoral lists was constitutional.
In Greece, the new Article 116(2) provides: ‘Positive measures aiming at
promoting equality between men and women do not constitute discrimination on
grounds of sex. The State shall take measures to eliminate inequalities which exist in
practice, in particular those detrimental to women’.166
In 2001 a constitutional
provision was introduced conferring horizontal direct effect to constitutional
provisions that proclaim human rights (Article 25(1)(c)), hence also to the above
provisions. The Constitution adopts an autonomous, positive and pro-active gender
equality norm – not a negative non-discrimination principle. This norm, which applies
in all areas, goes further than the prohibition of gender discrimination and requires
substantive gender equality. It is characteristic in this respect that Article 116(2)
requires the elimination of ‘inequalities which exist in practice’ (not merely of
‘discrimination’)167
and makes positive action, in particular in favour of women, a
‘must’ for all state authorities. This is acknowledged by well-established case law.
In Germany, in addition to the general equality provisions in the Basis Law
discussed earlier, Article 3(2)(2) provides that the State must ‘promote the actual
implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate
disadvantages that now exist’. Pursuant to this constitutional obligation, federal and
state legislation has been introduced so as to promote women in the public service
(Frauenfördergesetze or Gleichstellungsgesetze). On the federal level, these are, for
the public service in general, the Federal Law on Equality in the Public Service
(Bundesgleichstellungsgesetz),168
and for the armed forces, the Law on the Equality of
Female and Male Soldiers (Soldatinnen und Soldaten-Gleichbehandlungsgesetz).169
The laws of the 16 Länder (States) resemble more or less the federal Law on Equality
in the Public Service. There is no law obliging private employers to promote women
or realize women’s substantive equality. The existing laws use the term ‘substantive
equality’ (Gleichstellung) so as to emphasise their purpose of requiring a proactive
approach. These laws contain binding obligations for public authorities to realise
substantive equality. Outside the context of gender, there has also been the
development of a somewhat more positive equality approach adopted in the context of
disability issues. Article 3(3)(2) of the Basic Law prohibits unfavourable treatment of
persons with disabilities, and pursuant to this provision, the federal legislator enacted
the Law on Substantive Equality of Disabled Persons (Behindertengleichstellungs-
gesetz).170
The Länder have comparable laws. These laws only extend to the public
sector. They use the terms ‘putting at a disadvantage’ (Benachteiligung) and ‘equal
165
Décision n°2000-429 DC.
166
On these constitutional developments see A. Yotopoulos-Marangopoulos Affirmative Action:
Towards Effective Gender Equality Athens/Brussels, A.N. Sakkoulas/Bruylant 1998, in particular
pp. 71-76; S. Koukoulis-Spiliotopoulos ‘Greece: From Formal to Substantive Gender Equality: the
Leading Role of Jurisprudence and the Contribution of Women’s NGOs, in A. Manganas (ed.)
Essays in Honour of Alice Yotopoulos-Marangopoulos pp. 659-700 Athens/Brussels, Nomiki
Bibliothiki/Bruylant 2003 vol. A.
167
For an interpretation of the term ‘inequalities’ see S. Koukoulis-Spiliotopoulos From Formal to
Substantive Gender Equality: the Proposed Amendment of Directive 76/207 Athens/Brussels
A.N. Sakkoulas/Bruylant 2001, pp. 24-29.
168
Of 30 November 2001, BGBl. I p. 3234.
169
Of 14 August 2006, BGBl. I p. 1897.
170
Of 27 April 2002, BGBl. I p. 1467.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 45
participation in societal life’ (gleichberechtigte Teilhabe am Leben in der
Gesellschaft). The first term echoes the language of the Constitution; the second term
points towards substantive equality. It is unclear whether ‘equal participation’ is less
than substantive equality; it is used to emphasise the need for reasonable
accommodation, and the laws spell out such obligatory measures in detail.
In Iceland, Article 65 of the Constitution includes a provision that declares: ‘Men
and women shall enjoy equal rights in all respects.’171
This was added at a later stage
during parliamentary debates responding to pressures to ensure gender equality by
resorting to affirmative measures. The Constitutional Committee stated that ‘positive
discrimination’ was embodied in Article 65 if justified on objective grounds with the
aim of correcting the incomplete share of certain groups.172
In Italy, the second paragraph of Article 3 provides the basis of the definition of
substantive equality. It states that ‘It shall be the responsibility of the Republic to
remove all obstacles of an economic and social nature which, by limiting the freedom
and equality of citizens, hinder the full development of the human person and the
effective participation of all workers in the country’s political, economic and social
organization’. A provision similar to Article 3 Paragraph 2 has recently been provided
in Article 117 as regards regional legislation, which shall remove all obstacles to the
achievement of equality between men and women in the social, cultural and economic
field and promote equality in access to elective offices. Article 51 of the Constitution
states the principle of equality between men and women as regards the franchise and
eligibility. It also provides that the Republic shall promote equal opportunities for
men and women. In the context of public employment, and membership of public
bodies, Article 57 of Decree no. 165/2001 on the Ruling of Public Employment states
that women shall be at least one third of the members of the commission for public
competitions (hiring), except in case of justified impossibility; moreover, the Public
Administration shall assure to female workers the access to professional training in
proportion with their percentage of employment in the respective sector and adopt
organizational measures which favour their participation and allow the conciliation
between working and family life.
The Spanish Constitution (Constitución Española), Article 9.2, establishes the
public authorities’ duty to promote conditions favouring the achievement of equal
rights for individuals and groups, while using the concept of real and effective
equality. This provision has been the basis for the adoption of promotional measures
and positive action.
In Sweden, Paragraph 4 of Article 2 was amended recently. It now provides: ‘The
public institutions shall promote the ideals of democracy as guidelines in all sectors of
society and protect the private and family lives of private persons. Public institutions
shall work to ensure that all persons shall be able to achieve participation and equality
(my italics) in society. The public institutions shall counteract discrimination (my
italics) against persons on the grounds of gender, skin colour, national or ethnic
origin, language or religious affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, age or other
circumstance that relates to the individual as a person.’173
The new Paragraph 4 is
expected to play the role of a guiding principle for public authorities rather than being
a statement of law that will be implemented by the courts. The term ‘counteract’
(motverka) would seem to include an obligation to abolish any remaining
discriminatory legislation as well as an obligation on all public bodies themselves to
171
Law No. 97/1995 on amending the Constitution.
172
Constitutional Committee‘s reasoning, p. 4, 118. session of parliament, case 297.
173
Lag 2002:903.
46 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
refrain from discriminating acts. Since this amendment is also not legally binding, the
only kind of control is political.
In the United Kingdom, the Northern Ireland Act 1998 which, so far as is
relevant, imposes obligations on public authorities (Section 76) to ‘have regard to
need to promote equality of opportunity’ (a) between persons of different religious
belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation; (b)
between men and women generally; (c) between persons with a disability and persons
without; and (d) between persons with dependants and persons without’. The
Government of Wales Act includes Section 35, entitled ‘Equality of treatment’ which
concerns the relative status of the English and Welsh languages and (Subsection (2))
requires the Welsh Assembly to ‘make appropriate arrangements with a view to
securing that Assembly proceedings are conducted with due regard to the principle
that there should be equality of opportunity for all people’. Section 37 (entitled
‘Equality of opportunity’) requires the Welsh Ministers to ‘make appropriate
arrangements with a view to securing that their functions are exercised with due
regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people’ The
Sex Discrimination Act uses the term ‘equality of opportunity’ in its application to
public authorities upon which positive obligations are imposed by Section 76A of the
Act to ‘have due regard to the need— (a) to eliminate unlawful discrimination and
harassment, and (b) to promote equality of opportunity between men and women’.
The term equality of opportunity is not defined. The other British equality legislation
is in materially similar terms, public authorities being placed under duties by the RRA
and the DDA, inter alia, ‘to promote equality of opportunity.’
6.3.2. Courts adopt the fourth conception of equality in public sector context
Over time, the courts in Greece have developed a ‘substantive gender equality
approach’, starting with the landmark judgment CS No. 1933/1998 (Plen.). This
judgment concerned a statutory provision requiring the participation of at least one
woman having the necessary qualifications in the service councils dealing with the
status of civil servants.174
The CS, interpreting Article 4(2) of the Constitution in light
of Directive 76/207/EEC and the CEDAW, ruled that this constitutional provision
does not merely prohibit gender discrimination; it furthermore requires the promotion
of substantive gender equality. It consequently upheld the constitutionality and
recognized the necessity of the provision in issue. Subsequently, interpreting the new
provision of Article 116(2) of the Constitution in light of CEDAW and the Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, the CS considered that this constitutional provision
requires the legislature and all other state authorities to take those positive measures
in favour of women that are necessary for and relevant to achieving substantive
gender equality in all cases where women are in an inferior position. Consequently,
these judgments upheld the constitutionality and recognized the necessity of gender
quotas for municipal elections.175
In Italy, too, it is interesting to note the extent to which a more substantive
conception of equality has been accepted and applied, for example in the area of
174
See A. Yotopoulos-Marangopoulos Affirmative Action: Towards Effective Gender Equality, op. cit.;
and ‘The historical turn of the Council of State towards real equality. Comments on CS (Plen.)
1933/98 and 1917-1929/98’, The Constitution 1998 pp. 773-795 (in Greek).
175
CS Nos. 2831, 2832, 2833/2003, 192/2004, 2388/2004. On this case law and CS No. 1933/1998
(Plen.), see S. Koukoulis-Spiliotopoulos ‘Greece’, European Gender Equality Law Review
No. 2/2008, pp. 57-59: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=641&langId=en, last accessed
15 June 2009.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 47
equality in the franchise and eligibility for public office. The first judgment of the
Constitutional Court on the issue adopted a very formal concept of equality,176
similar
to the reasoning of the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Kalanke. The
Court considered a whole series of legal provisions in which it was laid down that
neither of the two sexes may be represented on lists of candidates for Town Council,
Provincial Council and Regional Council elections, or members of the Chamber of
Deputies, in a ratio greater than two thirds. Applying a formal equality interpretation,
these provisions were held to be inconsistent with Article 51 of the Constitution.
Some years later, however, the Constitutional Court declared the legitimacy of a
similar provision of the Statute of Region Valle d’Aosta, and also a new quota in the
list of candidates introduced by Act no. 90/2004 for the elections of Italian
representatives at the European Parliament.177
These measures were deemed to be
consistent with the constitutional principles as they only applied to candidates and did
not affect the freedom of vote. Article 51 of the Constitution was, however, changed
in 2003 so as to provide that the Republic shall promote equal opportunities for men
and women. Following this, the Constitutional Court accepted the legitimacy of
Article 57 of Decree no. 165/2001 providing that women shall be at least one third of
the members of the commission for public competitions (hiring) in Public
Employment sector.178
So too, Judgment 128/1987 of the Spanish Constitutional Court considers that the
prohibition of discrimination is not merely the negative side of equality. The
constitutional prohibition of discrimination requires measures that actively eradicate
historical situations of unequal treatment of certain groups.
In the United Kingdom, an important case is the recent decision of the
Administrative Court in R (Kaur & Shah) v London Borough of Ealing [2008] EWHC
2062. The case concerned a challenge to the decision by Ealing to withdraw funding
from Southall Black Sisters that provided specialist domestic violence services to
Asian and African-Caribbean women. One of the issues which arose concerned the
proper approach to Section 35 of the RRA which provides that ‘Nothing in Parts II to
IV will render unlawful any act done in according to a person of a particular racial
group access to facilities or services to meet the special needs of persons of that group
in regard to their education, training or welfare or any ancillary benefits.’ Moses LJ
ruled that the provision (paragraph 52) ‘recognises that the elimination of
discrimination and the promotion of equality requires indirect discrimination to be
eliminated and equality for those who are the victims of indirect discrimination may
require their special needs to be met (...) It does not derogate from it in any way. It is
a manifestation of the important principle of anti-discrimination and equality
measures that not only must like cases be treated alike but that unlike cases but must
be treated differently’. He went on to state (paragraph 58) that ‘specialist services for
a racial minority from a specialist source is anti discriminatory and furthers the
objectives of equality and cohesion’. If this case is to be followed it may go some way
towards underpinning the notion of discrimination with something a little akin to a
more substantive notion of equality (i.e. equality of outcome) than has generally
previously been the case. The only discussion of ‘equality of opportunity’ thus far in
the British case law arising under the positive statutory obligations is in a case under
the Race Relations Act 1976, R (E) v The Governing Body of JFS and the Admissions
Panel of JFS [2008] ELR 445, in which Munby J ruled that proper compliance with
176
No. 422/1995.
177
No. 49/2003.
178
No. 39/2005.
48 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
the duty required the relevant public body to direct its mind both to the need to
eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and to the need to promote equality of
opportunity and good race relations, and that the latter would require consideration of
the taking of active steps.
6.4. Private sector positive obligations
We have seen that, in the main, positive duties to promote equality of opportunity are
placed on public bodies, not private sector bodies. These positive duties apply only to
public sector bodies and not, unlike many aspects of the way in which the third
meaning of equality is put into operation, to the public and private sectors. This is not
to say that a similar approach might not be adopted for the private sector (the ‘fair
participation’ duty of employers under the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern
Ireland) Order 1998 has done so), but at the time of writing there is no equivalent
private sector duty applicable in England.
So too, in Austria, Paragraphs 11 – 11d of the Federal Equal Treatment Act,
OJ No. I 65 /2004, provide for the principle of the promotion of women that obliges
all representatives of the employer to aim at the elimination of the existing underrepresentation
of women and existing disadvantages of women in connection with the
working relation. This provision defines ‘under-representation’, when women are
represented less than 40 % of all employees within their group of the pay scheme or
type of function. In Italy, the Code of Equal Opportunities provides positive actions in
favour of women designed to encourage female employment and to achieve
substantive equality between men and women at work, by removing obstacles that
prevent the achievement of equal opportunities, without any automatic quota system.
Positive actions are also provided by Article 9 of Act no. 53/2000 on the Protection of
Motherhood and Fatherhood and are aimed at the reconciliation of professional, care
and family life. In Finland and Sweden, there is a positive duty on private employers
to develop ‘equality plans’.
In Great Britain, two further illustrations of statutory positive duties on private
bodies both arise in the context of disability. The DDA provided that ‘discrimination’
occurred as the result of an unjustified failure to comply with the duty of reasonable
adjustment in relation to both employment and the provision of goods, facilities and
services. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003
replaced the old duty to make reasonable adjustments with several duties applying to
an extended list of circumstances, office holders,179
occupational pension schemes,180
partners in firms,181
advocates,182
qualifications organisations,183
and practical work
experience.184
In addition, the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 further amended the
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to include a new duty to make reasonable
adjustments in relation to premises. Similarly, Maltese legislation on equal treatment
of disabled persons goes beyond the simple prohibition of discrimination or
discriminatory treatment, and aims indeed at placing disabled people on a footing of
equality of opportunity if not equality of results. The Equal Opportunities (Persons
with Disability) Act185
covers all areas and is clearly conceived in order to provide
179
Section 4E.
180
Section 4H.
181
Section 6B.
182
Section 7D.
183
Section 14B.
184
Section 14D.
185
Chapter 413 of the Laws of Malta.
The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 49
substantive equality. The Persons with Disability (Employment) Act186
is similarly
broadly conceived. They both go well beyond the prohibition of discrimination in
narrow terms.
7. Conclusions
In this Report, four meanings of equality have been described. However, several
caveats are necessary regarding these distinctions. First, the categories are constructed
to try to make sense of a sometimes bewildering range of legal material; this attempt
at categorization has received no judicial approval. Secondly, these categories are not
watertight, but porous, with developments in one category influencing approaches in
others. Thirdly, in some respects, the principles underlying each category may be in
tension with each other, and this may require decisions as to priority between the
categories in the case of conflict. European public law has only just begun to explore
these tensions. Fourthly, what was considered in the past to be the appropriate
approach to discrimination not infrequently shifts over time, so that, for example, the
approach taken to discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation has shifted from
being assessed under the first category to the third category. A fifth reason for being
wary of too sharp a distinction is that particular instantiations of equality currently
appear to fit within more than one category.
Nevertheless, some issues may be drawn from this analysis. We can regard the
first meaning of equality in the law of European countries, the ECHR and the EC as
having two complementary functions. It is both a general principle underpinning the
other categories to be discussed subsequently, as well as a residual category of
scrutiny in its own right. As regards the first function of this first meaning, it provides
a starting point from which the more detailed meanings of equality that follow may be
thought to derive. In this sense, the necessary criteria of likeness, difference and
justification missing in the first meaning are supplied in the second, third and fourth
meanings of equality. In the second meaning these criteria are supplied by an account
of how particularly important interests should be distributed, and in the third and
fourth meanings by referring to how particular characteristics of persons should affect
the distribution of opportunities more generally. Where, for example, maldistribution
of constitutional rights is in issue, or the use of race as a criterion of exclusion is
present, judgments of unreasonableness or irrationality have more on which to ‘bite’
and they induce more sceptical scrutiny. A greater effort is required to justify such
decisions than where other decisions not involving these considerations are in issue.
As regards the second function of the first meaning, the courts stand ready to
scrutinize decisions more generally, however weakly, on the basis of unequal
treatment, even those decisions that do not involve situations in which particularly
important interests, or where particular ‘status-harms’, are in issue.
In the second meaning of discrimination, the primary role of equality is to secure
the availability of the ‘prized public good’, free from arbitrariness, interpreted to
mean when access to that right is restricted for reasons that do not withstand objective
scrutiny. The more important the right or public good in issue, the more intense is the
scrutiny by the courts of the reasons for selective allocation. So far, in Europe , two
major groups of such goods can be identified with some degree of confidence:
fundamental human rights (such as those particularly found in the ECHR) and
fundamental economic principles (such as those found in EC internal market law).
186
Chapter 210 of the Laws of Malta.
50 The Concepts of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe
Essentially, in both contexts, the function of equality is the same: to ensure that the
distribution of the prized public good is not restricted by the use of arbitrary or
unjustified criteria of distribution.
In several ways, the third category of discrimination and equality is more
complex than the first and second categories discussed previously, and this greater
complexity has resulted in the emergence of legal issues that are so far relatively
underdeveloped in the context of discussions about the other categories. The
development of EC legislation applying this third category to a wider set of grounds is
likely to ensure that the third category remains the most complex meaning for some
time to come. It also appears to have become the dominant conception of equality and
non-discrimination among courts and legislatures.
The fourth meaning of equality in Europe is the most underdeveloped, not least
because it is also the most recently developed. It may have, however, the potential to
be the most far reaching in its implications, depending on its interpretation and
enforcement, although whether the fourth approach can stand alone or must (if it is to
be successful) operate alongside effective anti-discrimination law remains to be seen.
It also illustrates further the changing categories of equality and the relationship
between them. Under the fourth meaning of equality, some at least of the policies
disfavoured under the first conception could well now be seen as examples of how to
put into effect the broader conception of equality of opportunity required by the fourth
conception.
EUROPEAN NETWORK OF LEGAL EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF GENDER EQUALITY