Article 14 of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...

lists the prohibited grounds against which

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...

in illegal. The text states that

"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in heConvention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex,
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, colour,
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
,
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status."

Unlike the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt ...

, there is no general right to

equal treatment Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...

, only in the areas covered by the Convention. However, the article covers an open-ended list of prohibited grounds for discrimination and has been expanded over time to include such grounds as

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

. In the case law of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

, the interpretation of the article has expanded over time to include

indirect discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...

. Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights expands on Article 14 to include a freestanding prohibition of discrimination in "any right set forth by law". Introduced in 2000, it has been ratified by 20 of 47 Council of Europe states . In early cases before the

the court assumed that for Article 14 to be relevant, a breach of one of the substantive Convention rights had to have occurred. If the court did find a substantive breach, it would not find it necessary to consider Article 14. In the Belgian Linguistic case in 1968, the Belgian government argued that Article 14 was not relevant unless there was a substantive breach. For the first time, the court rejected this argument. Following this case, the court considers that for Article 14 to be considered "it suffices that the facts of a case fall within the ambit of another substantive provision of the Convention or its Protocols". The court focuses on

substantive equality Substantive equality is a fundamental aspect of human rights law that is concerned with equitable outcomes and equal opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalized people and groups in society.Cusack, Simone, Ball, Rachel (2009) Eliminating ...

rather than formal equality, and therefore it considers affirmative action acceptable in certain circumstances. According to the court's case law, any difference in treatment based on fixed status must be proportional to the justified aims pursued and the margin of appreciation has especially narrowed with regard to different treatment based exclusively on ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. For example, in the 2013 case '' Vallianatos and Others v. Greece'' a registered partnership scheme that only recognized different-sex couples was ruled to be a violation of Article 14 because it discriminated against same-sex couples.

References

External links

Official case law guide for Article 14
14 Discrimination in Europe Anti-discrimination law

References

Further reading

External links