EU non-discrimination law in the courts: A multi-layered comparison of juridical approaches to (in)direct sex and sexualities discrimination in EU law and its implementation in Germany and the Netherlands

The research deals with the question how and why the Dutch and German national courts ap-ply the EU non-discrimination law differently, although the relevant national legislation derives from the same set of rules and the national courts have to respect the competence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to interpret EU non-discrimination law.
This research examines how national courts and quasi-judicial bodies respond to the European challenge of introducing an equality framework into their national employment law systems to correspond with the European standard of equality law. It includes an analysis of the case law on direct as well as indirect discrimination on the grounds of gender and sexual orientation and covers the cases which are linked to Article 157 TFEU, the Framework and Re-cast Directive without considering equal pay for equal value and social security law.
The work uses a culturally informed comparative law method, constructing law as a factor which is inter-related with culture, history and other aspects of society. The research will consider the German and Dutch courts’ and/or quasi-judicial bodies’ case law, which are viewed in a triangular relationship to each other and the CJEU. Special attention will be drawn to the dialogue and influences of the courts inter se. The influence of Union law and its appli-cation by national courts is considered as depending heavily on national legal consciousness which is influenced by culture and history. Such an analysis is of significant value for European law studies because it uncovers the national cultural background which can influence the atti-tudes towards EU non-discrimination law and the CJEU judgements 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.