21 January 2026
Racialized, but Equal?
The Danish housing law is an instructive example of what has long been described as the racialisation of poverty. Racialised groups are disproportionately represented among those living in poverty in Europe, due to historical and structural inequalities, while poverty itself becomes associated with these groups and framed as an individual or cultural failing rather than systemic injustice. While extensively analysed in sociology and critical race theory, the racialisation of poverty remains strikingly undertheorised in law. Continue reading >>
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12 January 2026
When Caution is Justified
Little CJEU case law has been as fiercely criticised as that relating to the right to be free from religious discrimination. However, the CJEU recently found a sympathiser in Ronan McCrea. He argues that the approach is one of “justifiable caution”. Despite my disagreements with him, I believe that we must take McCrea’s position seriously to be able to develop a more fine-grained view of when caution is warranted. At the same time, I still firmly believe that the case law on religious clothing reveals deeply troubling attitudes toward Muslim women that have no place under anti-discrimination law. Continue reading >>
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04 December 2025
Money Talks, Discrimination Walks
Driven by anti-immigration sentiment and supported by government policies, local governments in Poland are currently passing resolutions, targeting the relocation of migrants. The Polish managing authority and intermediate institutions of European funds responded quickly. Due to the risk of losing EU funds, some of these discriminatory resolutions were repealed shortly after enactment. These swift reactions indicate that some lessons have been learned from the previous involvement in the so-called LGBT-free zones. Hence, it seems that when money talks, discrimination walks. Continue reading >>
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24 October 2025
Ethnically Stratified Citizenship
The upcoming ECJ judgment in Slagelse Almennyttige Boligselskab – the so-called Danish Ghetto Area case – could reshape the boundaries of EU equality law. At issue is whether Denmark’s policy targeting neighborhoods with more than 50% “non-western immigrants and their descendants” amounts to discrimination based on race or ethnic origin. While Advocate General Ćapeta framed the case around ethnic discrimination, the deeper question is one of EU citizenship: can EU law accept stratification of EU citizenship along ethnic lines? Continue reading >>
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15 October 2025
Codifying Belonging
Amid numerous global catastrophes, a quieter crisis at home is strikingly overlooked: a direct attack on equality and, effectively, the denial of Roma people’s rights, their freedom of movement, and dignity as European citizens. The newly adopted Hungary’s 2025 Act on the Protection of Local Identity straightforwardly normalises racial exclusion at the local level under the guise of safeguarding “heritage” and “community values,” and directly empowers local governments to determine who may belong within their borders. Continue reading >>
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10 July 2025
Silencing Children’s Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court decided Mahmoud v. Taylor on June 27, 2025. In doing so, it dramatically expanded parental rights over students and education without concern for the rights of children or consideration of pedagogy and curriculum. Instead of addressing the plurality of views around sexual orientation and gender, the Court indirectly, but unsubtly, installs a traditional values framework that imposes norms of heterosexuality, religious fundamentalism and parental micromanagement of curriculum. Continue reading >>
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17 June 2025
A Door Opened, But Not Fully
On 12 June 2025, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment in T.H. v. the Czech Republic – the first case brought by a non-binary person. The Court found a violation of Article 8 of the Convention for requiring sterilisation as a precondition for legal gender recognition. Yet, the misgendering of the applicant, the Court’s silence on Articles 3 and 14, and the absence of compensation all temper the applicant’s win. Continue reading >>12 May 2025
The Nationality Lottery
On 24 March 2025, the Amsterdam District Court issued a consequential judgement on deprivation of nationality after a terrorist conviction. The ruling stated that the Dutch government could not revoke the nationality of a person convicted of terrorism-related crimes, declaring it a violation of the prohibition of discrimination based on ethnic origin. The judgement marks a departure from previous case law established by the Council of State – the highest administrative court in the Netherlands – as it reconceptualizes the issue of deprivation of nationality as one of direct discrimination based on ethnic origin. However, it fails to provide a clear explanation for its reasoning and seems to conflate nationality with ethnicity. Continue reading >>04 December 2024
Under Guise of War
The Knesset’s legislative work since October 2023 has included several legislative initiatives that may be creating a framework for furthering systemic discrimination against Arab Israelis. These new laws could pose a dangerous new precedent in Israel, stripping the right to equality and human dignity of their meaning and threatening the already fragile state of democracy as we know it. Continue reading >>
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13 July 2024
Hate Speech on and off the Field
During the EURO 2024 in Germany, the UEFA has imposed a series of sanctions on fans and two players for inappropriate comments and gestures. Albania's player Mirlind Daku was suspended by UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) for two UEFA representative team competition matches after chanting nationalist slogans. Turkey's Merih Demiral was suspended for two matches for celebrating his second goal against Austria with a "wolf salute". These sanctions can be considered justified under the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR"). However, in order to have an effective preventive effect, they should be accompanied by criminal investigations under national law. Continue reading >>
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