Abstract/Summary

The aim of this chapter is to examine the contribution that the general principles of EU law have made to the protection of the rights of LGBT individuals and same-sex couples under EU law. The focus, in particular, will be on the general principle of equality and its use as a source of the EU prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender reassignment. The chapter follows a chronological approach. It begins (Section II) with a brief examination of the general principle of equality and the various roles it has played in the process of European integration. This is followed by a section (Section III) presenting the early—pre-Amsterdam—approach of the EU towards the protection of LGBT persons from discrimination. Section IV then considers the impact that the introduction of (what is now) Article 19 TFEU and the resultant promulgation of the Employment Equality Directive (EED) (Directive 2000/78) has had on the protection of the rights of LGB persons, with specific reference being made to the Court’s initial interpretation of the Directive. In addition, the Court’s rulings on the position of transsexuals during that same period is analysed. Section V proceeds to explore the post-Lisbon legal framework for the protection of LGBT rights in the EU, and examines the case law of the Court during this period, where the prohibition of discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation was applied. The final section concludes.