Articles for tag: Diskriminierung, EU, Europäische Kommission, gender equality

A Union of Equality?

Last Thursday, Ursula von der Leyen, the new – and former – President of the EU Commission presented the ‘Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2024-2029’, her ideas and priorities for the coming mandate. This blogpost will examine whether the Guidelines are living up to the scale of the gender-related concerns and challenges that are facing the Union, as Ursula von der Leyen promises. It identifies a shift in tone in the Commission’s pledges to promoting gender equality and outlines some proposals that the German Women Lawyers Association (djb) has advanced in order to help tackle these challenges.

22. Juli 2024

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Elisabeth Selbert

Dr. Elisabeth Selbert, who took her A levels in self-study and completed her law degree in six semesters, did her doctorate – ahead of her time – on the principle of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. As a member of the Parliamentary Council, she was one of the four ‘mothers’ of the German Constitution. The inclusion of ‘Men and women shall have equal rights’ in Art. 3 (2) of the Basic Law (‘Grundgesetz’) is her merit. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the ‘Grundgesetz’, this contribution aims to portray her life, achievements and impact in a short profile.

23. Mai 2024

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The CJEU’s Feminist Turn?

In Case C-621/21, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held that women in general and women facing domestic violence in their country of origin in particular, qualify as a protected ‘social group’ under EU Directive 2011/95 and thus avail themselves for refugee status or subsidiary protection in the Common European Asylum System. This contribution applies the perspective of feminist approaches to international law to critically analyze what this decision means for women and victims of gender-based violence – in- and outside of the European Union.

20. Februar 2024

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When Discrimination is Not Enough

The Supreme Court, India’s apex constitutional court, recently delivered its disappointing decision in Supriyo Chakraborty v Union India (Supriyo), rejecting marriage equality in Indian law. The much-awaited decision was heard by a constitution bench (five judges) of the Supreme Court and dealt with far-reaching questions of both Indian constitutional law and family law. The decision is characteristic of the Indian Supreme Court’s ongoing phase of great deference to the executive and legislative branches but also marks a sharp and worrying break from the court’s otherwise progressive jurisprudence on issues of gender and sexuality.

22. Oktober 2023

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A Human Rights Breakthrough in Sports Law?

On 11 July 2023, the ECtHR found in its Chamber judgment in Semenya v. Switzerland that international-level athlete Mokgadi Caster Semenya had been discriminated against by the Eligibility Regulations for Female Classification of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF, now World Athletics). These regulations required her to undergo hormone treatment to lower her natural testosterone levels in order to be admitted to international competitions in the female category. In the Chamber's view, Switzerland had violated the Convention by failing to provide sufficient institutional and procedural safeguards to enable Ms. Semenya to have her discrimination complaints effectively examined. If the GC upholds the Chamber’s findings on jurisdiction and scrutiny, the Semenya judgment will have a significant impact on the human rights approach of sports federations and on future CAS proceedings.

26. Juli 2023

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An Interactive Relationship

In reflections on fifty years of membership, the employment of women is often identified as a tangible example of how membership changed Ireland. Concretely, in the years immediately following accession, the state was required to enact legislation on equal pay and equal treatment for women and men in employment. This narrative tends to place emphasis on EU law as a cause of law reform in Ireland. 50 years on, both Irish and EU equality law have expanded significantly.

23. März 2023

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The Italian Surname Saga

On May 31, 2022, the Italian Constitutional Court (ICC) finally rendered its much-awaited decision (ICC, decision no. 131/2022) about domestic legislation on surname attribution. The judgment deserves closer attention for two main reasons. Next to fostering gender equality, it also exemplifies the new role of the ICC within the Italian constitutional order.

5. Juli 2022

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Call Me by Mum’s Name

In a recent decision, the Italian Constitutional Court took up the question of the choice of surname for newborns. In the absence of legislative reforms, it has tried to adapt the Italian legal framework, which still adheres to traditional naming practices, to constitutional and international standards of equality. This step shows the Court’s intention to counter the Parliament’s inertia on the issue.

23. Februar 2021

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