Prohibition of Discrimination

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The Caster Semenya Judgment of the ECtHR: Why It Should Not be the Final Whistle?

July 25, 2023

The legal marathon of Caster Semenya against regulations of the sport governing body (SGB) overseeing athletics has emerged as one of the most contentious legal battles, reaching the pinnacle of the European human rights framework. Semenya is a South African runner with naturally higher testosterone levels than other females. She refused to submit herself to World Athletics (WA) regulations, which required intersex persons to undergo hormonal treatments to lower testosterone levels to be able to compete with other female athletes (DSD regulations). She took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where the panel upheld the WA regulations, and appealed the award to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (SFSC), where the court refused to set aside the CAS award. She then appealed to the ECtHR, which in its judgment, delivered a resounding victory for the athlete. This judgment remains subject to potential referral to the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR (GC); however, it contains several noteworthy aspects such as jurisdictional questions resulting from a compulsory arbitration…

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Basu v. Germany and Muhammad v. Spain: Why the first European Court of Human Rights’ judgments on racial profiling in identity checks are disappointing  

February 7, 2023

Racial profiling by the police is a mounting concern in Europe. It has been defined by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) as “the use by the police, with no objective or reasonable justification, of grounds such as race, colour, language, religion, nationality or national or ethnic origin in control, surveillance or investigation activities” (ECRI…

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Generous, but Equal Treatment? Anti-Discrimination Duties of States Hosting Refugees Fleeing Ukraine

May 2, 2022

More than 5 million refugees have recently fled Ukraine, the fastest-growing mass displacement in this century. About a quarter of Ukraine’s population and half of its children have fled their homes. The European Union (EU) responded with a first-time activation of the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD). Lurking behind tremendous generosity, States have treated…

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CEDAW’s Landmark Decision on the Criminalisation of Same Sex Conduct Between Women

April 5, 2022

Rosanna Flamer-Caldera (RFC v Sri Lanka), is a human rights activist and the Executive Director of Equal Ground which campaigns for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights in Sri Lanka. Ms Flamer-Caldera is a lesbian, and is open about her sexuality. Her activism on these issues is well-recognised both inside and outside of the country…

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The Disputes Between Armenia and Azerbaijan: The CERD Compromissory Clause as a One-way Ticket to Hague

November 11, 2021

Introduction In September 2021, Armenia and Azerbaijan lodged each against the other an application before the International Court of Justice (Court) (ArA and AzA). Both applications refer to alleged breaches of the 1966 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), using its compromissory clause (Article 22) to establish the…

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