European and International Equality Law

Start date: 1 October 2007
End date: 31 October 2014
Primary investigator: Professor Dagmar Schiek
Co-investigators: Ana Laura Aiello, Ann Blair, Wendy (Li) Huang, Dr Annick Masselot, Dr Jule Mulder

The Centre for European Law and Legal Studies (CELLS) research encompassed all aspects of EU and International equality law. Our diverse research projects are linked by aim to identify principles underlying non-discrimination law though it relates to a wide variety of grounds as well as offering models on how to overcome inequalities linked to ascribed otherness.

EU non-discrimination law is praised as a success story of European integration and a socio-legal field in its own right which by now has reached a certain maturity. Since 2000, a body of directives addresses discrimination on grounds of racial and ethnic origin, religion and belief, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation; and, from 2009, the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights for the European Union adds a number of further non-discrimination grounds in provisions addressing the EU and its Member States.

This research takes a critical standpoint to EU non-discrimination law and policy generally. For example, the 2009 conference on Multidimensional Equality Law in Europe (convened by Professor Dagmar Schiek) called for papers arguing in favour of re-focusing EU non-discrimination law in the “triangle” of race, gender and disability, while the 2011 research seminar EU Non-discrimination law and policy - a future mandate? (Professor Dagmar Schiek’s Jean Monnet ad personam Chair) critically reflected upon the relation of EU non-discrimination law and social policy. Further seminars reflected on the EU non-discrimination law and the situation of Roma., as well as on EU disability rights.

As regards international equality law, CELLS executive board member Anna Lawson specialises in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is one of the most innovative UN conventions on equality, and is also part of the Academic Network of European Disability experts (Professor Anna Lawson).

Further information

Project Publications

Lawson A & Flynn E (2013) ‘Disability and Access to Justice in the European Union: Implications of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ 4 Yearbook of European Disability Law 7

Lawson A (2012) ‘Disability Equality, Reasonable Accommodation and the Avoidance of Ill-Treatment in Places of Detention: What Role for Monitoring and Inspection Bodies?’ 16(6) The International Journal of Human Rights 845

Bullock J & Masselot A (2013) ‘Multiple Discrimination and Intersectional Disadvantages Challenges and Opportunities in the EU Legal Framework’ 19(1) Columbia Journal of European Law 55

Schiek D (2012) ‘Enforcing Employment Discrimination Law – Potential Transplants from Italy to Britain and Vice Versa?’ 28 (4) International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 489

Schiek D (2011) ‘Age Discrimination Before The ECJ - Conceptual and Theoretical Issues’, 48 (3) Common Market Law Review 777

Schiek D & Lawson A (eds) (2011) EU Non-Discrimination Law and Intersectionality: investigating the triangle of racial, gender and disability discrimination (Farnham: Ashgate)