Case notes - A Case of Unfinished Business? How NH v Associazione Avvocatura per i diritti LGBTI – Rete Lenford Exposes Shortcomings in the CJEU’s Interpretation of Directive 2000/78/EC
Pages | pp 151 - 163 |
Published date | 12 July 2022 |
Date | 12 July 2022 |
151
A Case of Unnished Business? How NH v
Associazione Avvocatura per i diritti LGBTI – Rete
Lenford exposes shortcomings in the CJEU’s
Interpretation of Directive 2000/78/EC
SORCHA BRADY*
I. Introduction
On 23 April 2020, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European
Union (the ‘CJEU’) gave a preliminary ruling in the case of NH v Associazione
Avvocatura per i diritti LGBTI – Rete Lenford (‘NH’).1 e CJEU concluded that
homophobic statements made in a public interview concerning employment were
directly discriminatory and contravened provisions of Council Directive 2000/78/
EC (the ‘Directive’),2 even though there was no active recruitment campaign when
the statements were made.3
Although NH did not establish a new point of law,4 it is the third in a trilogy
of cases concerning discriminatory statements made in public about people in
protected categories in the employment context.5
is case note will rst provide the facts and procedural history leading up to the
judgment. Secondly, it will summarise the decision of the CJEU before nally
arguing that, although the decision oers valuable clarications regarding the
* BCL (UC D), Intern at Philip Lee. e author would like to thank Dr Sara Benedí Lahuerta for her
advice and support in writing this case note. e author is also very grateful to Mike Mesbur for his
comments on earlier dras. Any views or opinions expressed in this case note are the personal views
and opinions of the author.
1 Case C-507/18 NH v Associazione Avvocatura per i diritti LGBTI – Rete Lenford [2020]
ECLI:EU:C:2020:289.
2 Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal
treatment in employment and occupation [2000] OJ L303/16.
3 Case C-507/18 NH v Associazione Avvocatura per i diritti LGBTI – Rete Lenford [2020]
ECLI:EU:C:2019:922, Opinion of Advocate General Sharpston (AG Opinion), para 20.
4 Alina Tryfonidou, ‘Case C-507/18 NH v Associazione Avvocatura per i diritti LGBTI – Rete
Lenford: Homophobic Speech and EU Anti-discrimination Law’ (2020) 27(4) Maastricht Journal
of European and Comparative Law 513, 514.
5 Case C-54/07 Centrum oor Gelijkheid van kansen en oor racismebestrijding v Firma Feryn NV
[2008] ECLI:EU:C:2008:397 (Fe ryn); Case C-81/12Asociaţia Accept v Consiliul Naţional pentru
Combaterea Discriminării [2013] ECLI:EU:C:2013:275 (Asociaţia Accept); Uladzislau Belavusau,
‘e NH Case: On the “Wings of Words” in EU Anti-discrimination Law’ (2020) 5(2) European
Papers – A Journal on Law and Integration 1001, 1001, 1020.
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