DDRO 27A66 - Anti-discrimination law: European and comparative perspectives

The right to be free from discrimination is a cornerstone of human rights protection and a vital element of democratic societies. It safeguards individual dignity, promotes autonomy, and serves as a legal tool to combat structural and systemic inequalities. Anti-discrimination law has played a transformative role in advancing the rights of women, LGBQ+ and transgender persons, racialised and religious minorities, persons with disabilities, and other marginalised groups.

This discussion-driven course offers a comprehensive introduction to European anti-discrimination law, with a strong focus on the European Union and the Council of Europe. It also draws on comparative insights from international and national legal systems—including the United Nations, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa—, providing students with a broad and nuanced understanding of how equality is protected and contested across different jurisdictions.

Students will explore key legal instruments, such as the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Equality Directives and the European Convention on Human Rights—as interpreted by the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights—alongside national and international frameworks. The course examines prohibited grounds of discrimination, including but not limited to sex, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation, as well as the legal principles of direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, positive action, and intersectionality.

A variety of real-world contexts will be analysed—such as employment, equal pay, access to goods and services, housing, education, healthcare and sports—highlighting the impact and limitations of anti-discrimination norms in practice. Special attention will be paid to current challenges, including algorithmic bias, online violence, religious accommodation, and the legal responses to rising populism and backlash against equality rights.

By the end of the course, students will develop an advanced and critical understanding of the key concepts, theories, and legal mechanisms underpinning European anti-discrimination law. They will also be equipped to compare and evaluate different national and international approaches, identify emerging trends, and reflect on the evolving role of law in promoting substantive equality in Europe and beyond.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify key legal sources and landmark cases in European anti-discrimination law
• Compare core concepts and legal frameworks across national and international systems
• Apply analytical tools to evaluate court decisions and policy initiatives related to discrimination
• Critically examine the strengths and limitations of non-discrimination law in achieving equality

Pedagogical format

This course is structured as a discussion-based seminar that emphasizes active student participation. Students are expected to engage critically with the material through assigned readings, research tasks, and preparatory work. Each session will begin with introductory remarks from the instructor, followed by guided discussions using targeted questions, slides, problems and a range of visual or audio materials to support learning and stimulate debate. This course convenes in-person on a weekly basis.

There is no specific prerequisite to follow this course, but an understanding of the legal structure, the institutions and the functioning of the European Union and the Council of Europe will help you throughout the course. In this section, you will find introductory materials that you can use to refresh your knowledge. NB: these materials are all optional readings, however the three guides below (curia, eur-lex and reading a CJEU decision) will prove very helpful when you prepare the readings.

The following are available on the Moodle page of the course:

-- an introductory chapter on EU institutions, their competences and powers (Chapter 2: 'Institutions of the Union: composition and powers' in Marios Costa and Steve Peers, Steiner and Woods EU Law (Oxford University Press, 2020))

• a guide explaining how to use the database of the Court of Justice of the EU 'Curia' to search for judgments
• a guide explaining how to read a decision of the Court of Justice of the EU
• a guide explaining how to use the database of EU legislation 'Eur-Lex' to search for legal instruments and provisions.