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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Thursday that the Danish “ghetto law” may constitute both direct and indirect discrimination under Council Directive 2000/43/EC. Senior Legal Advisor at Amnesty International Denmark Dina Hashem commended the decision as an important step in protecting basic human rights.
The ECJ noted that the law creates a disparity by mandating development plans that lead to the termination of residents’ leases, exclusively in “transformation areas.” The court found that the law appears to base such a difference in treatment on ethnic origin and that it could constitute direct discrimination under Article 2(2)(a) of the directive if the preparatory documents for the law reveal an intent linked to stereotypes or prejudices against immigrants from non‑Western countries and their descendants.
Regarding indirect discrimination under Article 2(2)(b), the court noted that even a criterion appearing neutral on its surface could place specific ethnic groups at a disadvantage. The authorities can justify such a criterion only if it pursues a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim satisfy the proportionality test. The court highlighted that while member states enjoy broad discretion in social policy, they must comply with the prohibition of all discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, enshrined in Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and such specific expression by Directive 2000/43/EC.
The case arises from a Danish law on public housing, which provides for the reduction of public housing units in transformation areas. The classification of these areas depends first on socio-economic factors, including crime rates, educational levels, and unemployment rates. The second indicator, as defined in Section 619(a) of the Act on Social Housing, concerns whether “the proportion of immigrants from non-Western countries and their descendants exceeds 50%”.
Before the Danish Court, residents of Copenhagen’s Mjolnerparken estate argued that the criterion related to the proportion of immigrants constitutes discrimination, which is incompatible with EU law. The Danish court referred the question to the ECJ on the interpretation of Article 2(2)(a) and (b) of the directive, which defines direct and indirect discrimination.
The ECJ’s judgment provides interpretive guidance for the referring Danish court, Østre Landsret (High Court of Eastern Denmark). The Danish court will assess whether the evidence meets such a threshold for direct or indirect discrimination, potentially necessitating amendments to the law on public housing.
In a submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review in May 2021, Amnesty International reported that the “ghetto law” would result in the privatization or demolition of approximately 11,000 social housing units intended for families. In addition, residents in transformation areas may face double criminal penalties for certain offences, such as vandalism, assault, public order violations, arson, threats, and extortion, as police can temporarily classify such areas as “increased punishment zones” under the Danish Criminal Code.
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The ECJ noted that the law creates a disparity by mandating development plans that lead to the termination of residents’ leases, exclusively in “transformation areas.” The court found that the law appears to base such a difference in treatment on ethnic origin and that it could constitute direct discrimination under Article 2(2)(a) of the directive if the preparatory documents for the law reveal an intent linked to stereotypes or prejudices against immigrants from non‑Western countries and their descendants.
Regarding indirect discrimination under Article 2(2)(b), the court noted that even a criterion appearing neutral on its surface could place specific ethnic groups at a disadvantage. The authorities can justify such a criterion only if it pursues a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim satisfy the proportionality test. The court highlighted that while member states enjoy broad discretion in social policy, they must comply with the prohibition of all discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, enshrined in Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and such specific expression by Directive 2000/43/EC.
The case arises from a Danish law on public housing, which provides for the reduction of public housing units in transformation areas. The classification of these areas depends first on socio-economic factors, including crime rates, educational levels, and unemployment rates. The second indicator, as defined in Section 619(a) of the Act on Social Housing, concerns whether “the proportion of immigrants from non-Western countries and their descendants exceeds 50%”.
Before the Danish Court, residents of Copenhagen’s Mjolnerparken estate argued that the criterion related to the proportion of immigrants constitutes discrimination, which is incompatible with EU law. The Danish court referred the question to the ECJ on the interpretation of Article 2(2)(a) and (b) of the directive, which defines direct and indirect discrimination.
The ECJ’s judgment provides interpretive guidance for the referring Danish court, Østre Landsret (High Court of Eastern Denmark). The Danish court will assess whether the evidence meets such a threshold for direct or indirect discrimination, potentially necessitating amendments to the law on public housing.
In a submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review in May 2021, Amnesty International reported that the “ghetto law” would result in the privatization or demolition of approximately 11,000 social housing units intended for families. In addition, residents in transformation areas may face double criminal penalties for certain offences, such as vandalism, assault, public order violations, arson, threats, and extortion, as police can temporarily classify such areas as “increased punishment zones” under the Danish Criminal Code.
The post ECJ rules “ghetto law” in Denmark potentially constitutes ethnic discrimination appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.