By Dr Jule Mulder, Lecturer in Law (University of Bristol Law School).
In January 2017, my first monograph entitled EU Non-Discrimination Law in the Courts will be published with Hart Publishing/Bloomsbury. The monograph compares the Dutch and German application of EU non-discrimination law focusing on discrimination on grounds of sex and sexual orientation. It includes an analysis of the case law on direct as well as indirect discrimination and covers the cases which are linked to Article 157 TFEU, the Framework and Recast Directives (excluding equal pay for equal value and social security law).
Since the year 2000, the material and personal scope of EU non-discrimination law has been significantly broadened and has challenged national courts to introduce a comprehensive equality framework into their national law to correspond with the European standard.
The book provides a multi-layered culturally informed comparison of juridical approaches to EU (in)direct sex and sexualities discrimination and its implementation and application in Germany and the Netherlands. It examines how and why national courts apply national non-discrimination law with a European origin differently, although the legislation derives from the same set of EU law and the national courts have to respect the interpretive competence of the Court of Justice of the European Union. As such, it provides an in-depth analysis of the national legal and non-legal context which influences and shapes the implementation and application of non-discrimination law and reveals how some of these factors affect the interpretation and application of national non-discrimination law with a European origin.
A Dutch and German comparison is of special interest here because both countries’ approaches towards non-discrimination law are quite different despite the similarities in the respective legal systems; they are founding members of the EU, they are neighbours, they are civil law countries, and their legal systems are relatively similar, at least compared to Scandinavian and common law jurisdictions. Therefore, the different reception EU non-discrimination law cannot simply be explained by obvious differences between the legal systems. Their comparison thus provides an interesting case study to uncover legal and non-legal, cultural and historic, factors which influence the application of EU non-discrimination law in both countries. The book is of interest for EU, comparative and equality lawyers.
The culturally-informed multi-layered comparative analysis of the Dutch and German interpretation and application of EU non-discrimination law is of significant value for European law studies because it uncovers the national cultural background which can influence the attitudes towards EU non-discrimination law and the CJEU judgments coming from ‘outside’ each legal jurisdiction. Accordingly, it further explores the challenges faced once one wants to foster effective harmonisation of non-discrimination law within the EU Member States. The book provides valuable insights into the national and European context which shape the dialogue and influences of the courts inter se, the national application of EU law, and the harmonisation process within the area of gender equality law and beyond.
For further information see http://www.bloomsbury.com/au/eu-non-discrimination-law-in-the-courts-9781509906215/.