Handbook on Identifying and Using Equality Data in Legal Casework

This publication underscores the critical role of equality data for the effective protection of complainants and communities from entrenched bias and exclusion. Based on an analysis of contemporary European legal and policy standards in the field, this Handbook demonstrates that accurate and comparable equality data are essential in enabling adjudicators to assess cases of discrimination using a contextual analysis of group vulnerability and marginalisation. Such data allow equality bodies as both adjudicators and litigators to better design, implement, and monitor purposeful casework strategies.

This Handbook is designed to assist equality bodies to utilise equality data in their legal casework. It identifies and summarizes the best national and supranational practice in terms of framing and deciding cases based on equality data.

Specifically, the Handbook details the current practices of various Equality Bodies in using equality data, providing examples and lessons from their experiences. It also examines relevant case law from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), illustrating the legal significance of equality data.

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