Legal Seminar: Legal Developments and Concepts in the Field of Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe (2011)

The Equinet annual legal seminar provided an opportunity for lawyers working for national equality bodies to meet and exchange their expertise with other legal experts and practitioners in the field of non-discrimination law.

Aimed at legal experts and practitioners involved in anti-discrimination law, the seminar took place on 28 March 2011 in Brussels. This high-level event welcomed delegates from National Equality Bodies, European Institutions, National and European NGOs, Legal Research Organizations, Social Partners and Legal Experts and Practitioners in the field of non-discrimination and equal treatment law.

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The legal seminar achieved the following main objectives:

• The presentation of the scope of EU anti-discrimination legislation;
• A disussion of possible and potential interpretations of the existing laws;
• The presentation of recent developments in the ECJ’s judiciary with regard to equal treatment; and
• A debate on how national equality bodies can make use of their powers in relation to litigation before national and European courts.

The seminar was divided into three sessions:

• Session 1 – The appropriateness of using insurance risks linked to discrimination grounds in the calculation of insurance premiums
• Session 2 – Defining the boundaries of the EU anti-discrimination legislation
• Session 3 – New tools of studying the non-discrimination landscape and the recent developments

Speakers included representatives from the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, the Belgian Consumer Agency (Test-Achats), the European insurance sector and National Equality Bodies.

Programme

To view the final agenda of the seminar, please click here

Presentations

• Kristina Koldinska – Is sex an Appropriate Determining Factor in the Calculation of Insurance Premiums
• Jean-Paul Coteur – The use of Insurance risks linked to sex and other discrimination grounds in the calculation of insurance premiums – an NGO perspective
• William Vidonja – The use of Insurance risks linked to sex and other discrimination grounds in the calculation of insurance premiums – an insurers’ perspective
• Dr Frank Alleweldt – Study on the use of age, disability, sex, religion or belief, racial or ethnic origin and sexual orientation in financial services, in particular the insurance and banking sectors
• Peter Reading – The protection of volunteers under the Employment Framework Directive 2000/78/EC
• Barbara Liegl – Data collection on discrimination complaints. Developing an Equinet data collection template on complaints to quasi-judicial equality bodies

Delegate Pack

The following information was provided to participants:

• Speakers Biographies
• European Council Directives (2000/43/EC, 2000/78/EC, 2004/113/EC)
• The proposed horizontal directive
• “Test-Achats” Judgement (Case C-236/09)
• “Test-Achats” Advocate General’s Opinion
• Court Ruling – UK Volunteer Case Study

Other information regarding the Seminar:

• The European Fundamental Rights and European Court of Human Rights Handbook on European Non-Discrimination Law