The prohibition of discrimination under the European Convention on Human Rights

The European Convention on Human Rights guarantees equality among human beings by means of two provisions that prohibit discrimination: on the one hand, Article 14 of the Convention, ratified by all member states of the Council of Europe; and, on the other hand, the first article of Protocol No.12, ratified by only some of the members.

The content of the prohibition laid down by these two provisions is the same, the only difference is in the extent of their scope: whereas Article 14 prohibits discrimination in the 'enjoyment of rights and freedoms set forth by the present Convention', the first article of Protocol No.12 prohibits discrimination in a broader sense in the 'enjoyment of ail rights set forth by law'.

This study proposes an insight into the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on discrimination with respect both to the main principles which guide its implementation and to the specific solutions which the Court has adopted in relation to discrimination.

Other questions examined include the scope of the prohibition of discrimination (to what does it apply?), the question of the content of such a prohibition (what precise obligations does it imply?), and last, the question of a judicial review (how does the Court assess compliance with it?).

The 'Human rights files' series is aimed at specialists in European law: lawyers, practitioners and research students. It also constitutes a useful resource for the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the signatory states.

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