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Handbook on European Non-Discrimination Law

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Handbook on European Non-Discrimination Law 10.2811/11978 TK-30-11-003-EN-C Handbook Handbook on European non-discrimination law Handbook on European European non-discrimination law, as constituted by the EU non-discrimination directives, and Article 14 of and Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights, prohibits discrimination across a range of contexts and a range of grounds. This Handbook examines European non-discrimination law stem- ming from these two sources as complementary systems, drawing on them interchangeably to the extent that they overlap, while highlighting differences where these exist. With the impressive body of case-law developed by the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union in the field of non-discrimination, it seemed useful to present, in an accessible way, a handbook with a CD-Rom intended for legal practitioners in the EU and Council of Europe Member States and be- yond, such as judges, prosecutors and lawyers, as well as law-enforcement officers. Handbook on European non-discrimination law EuropEan union agEncy for fundamEntal rigHts Schwarzenbergplatz 11 - 1040 Vienna - Austria Tel. +43 (1) 580 30-60 - Fax +43 (1) 580 30-693 fra.europa.eu - [email protected] ISBN 978–92–871–9995–9 EuropEan court of Human rigHts council of EuropE 67075 Strasbourg Cedex - France Tel. +33 (0) 3 88 41 20 18 - Fax +33 (0) 3 88 41 27 30 echr.coe.int - [email protected] © European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2010. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights Council of Europe, 2010. European Court of Human Rights - Council of Europe The manuscript was finalised in July 2010. Handbook on European non-discrimination law Reproduction is authorised, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. 2011 — 151 pp. — 14.8 x 21 cm ISBN 978-92-871-9995-9 (CoE) ISBN 978-92-9192-667-1 (FRA) doi:10.2811/11978 Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union A great deal of information on the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the FRA website at fra.europa.eu. New freephone number * 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 Further information on the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights is available on Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00800 numbers or these calls may be billed. the Court’s website: echr.coe.int. The HUDOC search portal provides access to judgments and In certain cases, these calls may be chargeable from telephone boxes or hotels. decisions in English and/or French, translations into additional languages, monthly case-law information notes, press releases and other information on the work of the Court. How to obtain EU publications Free publications: • via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu); Photo credit (cover & inside): © iStockphoto • at the European Union’s representations or delegations. You can obtain their contact details on the Internet (http://ec.europa.eu) or by sending a fax to +352 2929-42758. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Priced publications: • via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Priced subscriptions (e.g. annual series of the Official Journal of the European Union and reports of cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union): Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2011 • via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union (http://publications.europa.eu/others/agents/index_en.htm). ISBN 978-92-871-9995-9 (CoE) ISBN 978-92-9192-667-1 (FRA) doi:10.2811/11978 How to obtain Council of Europe publications Printed in Luxembourg by Imprimerie Centrale Council of Europe Publishing produces works in all the Organisation’s spheres of reference, including human rights, legal science, health, ethics, social affairs, the environment, education, Printed on elemental chlorine-free bleached PaPer (ECF) culture, sport, youth and architectural heritage. Books and electronic publications from the extensive catalogue may be ordered online (http://book.coe.int/). This Handbook was drafted in English. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) takes no responsi- bility for the quality of the translations into other languages. The views expressed in this Handbook do A virtual reading room enables users to consult excerpts from the main works just published or the not bind the ECtHR. The Handbook refers to a selection of commentaries and manuals on the European full texts of certain official documents at no cost. Convention on Human Rights. The ECtHR takes no responsibility for their content, nor does their inclusion Information on, as well as the full text of, the Council of Europe Conventions is available from the on this list amount to any form of endorsement of these publications. Further manuals on the Convention Treaty Office website: http://conventions.coe.int/. are listed on the Internet pages of the ECtHR library: echr.coe.int/Library/ Handbook on European non-discrimination law Foreword In January 2010, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights decided to collaborate on the preparation of this Handbook on European case-law concerning non-discrimination. We are pleased to be able to present the concrete results of this joint effort. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union became legally binding. Furthermore, the Lisbon Treaty pro- vides for EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights. In this context, increased knowledge of common principles developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights is not only desirable but in fact essential for the proper national implementation of a key aspect of European human rights law: the standards on non-discrimination. 2010 marked the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights, which sets out a general prohibition on discrimination in its Article 14, and the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the two fundamental texts in the fight against discrimination at EU level – the Racial Equality and Employment Equality Directives. With the impressive body of case-law developed by the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union in the field of non-discrimination, it seemed useful to present, in an accessible way, a handbook with a CD-Rom intended for legal practitioners in the EU and Council of Europe Member States and beyond, such as judges, prosecutors and lawyers, as well as law-enforcement officers. Being at the forefront of human rights protection, they, in particular, need to be aware of the non-discrimination principles in order to be able to apply them effectively in practice. For it is at the national level that non-discrimination provisions come to life, and there on the front line that the challenges become visible. Erik Fribergh Morten Kjaerum Registrar of the Director of the European Union Agency European Court of Human Rights for Fundamental Rights 3 Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 AbbreviationS .................................................................................................................................................................... 9 1. Introducing European non-discrimination law: ContexT, Evolution AnD kEy principles ......................................................................................11 1.1. Context and background to European non-discrimination law ...................................................................................................................... 12 1.1.1. The Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights ............................................................................................... 12 1.1.2. The European Union and the non-discrimination directives ............................. 13 1.2. Current and future developments in European protection mechanisms ............................................................................................ 15 1.2.1. EU Charter of Fundamental Rights ..................................................................................... 15 1.2.2. Un human rights treaties ........................................................................................................ 16 1.2.3. European Union accession to the European Convention on Human Rights .................................................................17 Key points ..................................................................................................................................................................17 Further reading ....................................................................................................................................................... 18 2. Discrimination categories AnD defences ............................................................................... 21 2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 21 2.2. Direct discrimination ............................................................................................................................ 22 2.2.1. Unfavourable treatment..........................................................................................................
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