Anti-discrimination law and the European Union

Book abstract:

The 1999 Treaty of Amsterdam created a new legal arena for the regulation of discrimination in the European Union, to encompass discrimination in the areas of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. This work explores the development of EU law and policy in two of those areas - race and sexual orientation. It contains analysis of relevant case law from the European Court of Justice, and coverage of the anti-discrimination directives adopted in 2001. Chapter one sets out the theoretical framework. Development of regulation of discrimination on grounds of nationality or gender are examined in chapter two, and these aspects are studied further in chapters three and four placing further emphasis on understanding the amendments of EC Treaty in 1997 to empower a new legal competence for combating discrimination. How that legal competence sits within the theoretical framework of European social policy is explored in chapter five, which seeks to identify whether or not it marks a change in approach by the EC in regard to discrimination towards a rights-based attitude. Is that an appropriate or effective approach? and what limitations are placed on the scope for EU intervention? are questions raised in chapter six. The final chapter returns to the theoretical framework set out in the earlier chapters and considers how EC Treaty Article 13 laws influence the overall nature of current European social policy. It looks beyond Article 13 and identifies the need for further work to ensure the efficacy of the Directives and points the way to enhanced anti-discrimination legislation in the future.

The work will interest scholars, students, policy researchers and practitioners engaged in the fields of Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination Legislation.

Mark Bell is Lecturer in Law at the University of Leicester.