EU Anti-Discrimination Law

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

1 - Introduction
2 - Essential Characteristics of EU Law
3 - General Principles and Equal Treatment
4 - Key Concepts in EU Anti-Discrimination Law
5 - Equal Pay
6 - The Scope and Enforcement of the Workplace Anti-Discrimination Provisions
7 - Discrimination on the Grounds of Pregnancy and Materinty
8 - Non-Workplace Discrimination
9 - Exceptions to the Non-Discrimination Principle
10 - Equality in Social Security
11 - Conclusions

Evelyn Ellis is an Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Birmingham. She has acted as a legal Consultant to the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights (Northern Ireland) and as an Expert Advisor to the Lords Select Committee on the Europena Union. She was an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Western Australia, from 2009-2012. Philippa Watson is a Barrister at Essex Court Chambers, Professor at City Law School, London, and Visiting Professor at Queen Mary, University of London.