''Defrenne v Sabena (No 2)'' (1976) is a foundational

European Union law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

case, concerning

direct effect In the law of the European Union, direct effect is the principle that Union law may, if appropriately framed, confer rights on individuals which not only the courts but also the public administration (on national, regional or local level) of m ...

and the

European Social Charter The European Social Charter is a Council of Europe treaty which was opened for signature on 18 October 1961 and initially became effective on 26 February 1965, after West Germany had become the fifth of the 13 signing nations to ratify it. By ...

in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. It held that the EU: The case was championed by the Belgian lawyer

Éliane Vogel-Polsky Éliane Vogel-Polsky (5 July 1926 – 13 November 2015) was a Belgian lawyer and feminist. Biography Éliane Vogel-Polsky was born in Ghent on 5 July 1926, one of two daughters. Her parents were Russian Jews who had immigrated to Belgium after th ...

, who was responsible for much of the heavy involvement in sex discrimination law of the time by the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

Facts

A woman named Gabrielle Defrenne worked as a

flight attendant A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

for the Belgian national airline Sabena. Under Belgian law, female flight attendants were obliged to retire at the age of 40, unlike their male counterparts. Defrenne had been forced to retire from Sabena in 1968. Defrenne complained that the lower pension rights this entailed violated her right to equal treatment on grounds of gender under article 119 of the Treaty of the European Community, (now Article 157 of the

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establish ...

(TFEU) – prior to the Lisbon Treaty, this was article 141 TEC).

Judgment

The

held that article 119 of the Treaty of the European Community was of such a character as to have horizontal direct effect, and therefore enforceable not merely between individuals and the government, but also between private parties. Article 157 TFEU (119 TEEC, 141 TEC) was invoked which stated "Each Member State shall ensure that the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value is applied"

Significance

This, further to the case of

Van Gend en Loos Van Gend & Loos was a Dutch distribution company. It was established in 1809, and was purchased by DHL in 2003. History Van Gend & Loos was established by the Antwerp-based innkeeper and carriage driver Jan-Baptist van Gend. He had marri ...

, identified the horizontal and vertical direct effect of Treaty provisions which could be invoked in national courts and hence they would be bound to protect individual rights.

References and sources

;References ;Sources * {{refend

External links

Éliane Gubin Éliane Gubin (born in 1942) is a Belgian historian, researcher and professor of political history, political and social history, specializing in the history of women and feminism. In the late 1980s, she initiated the introduction of women's histo ...

''Eliane Vogel-Polsky, a woman of conviction''
Bruxelles, Institut pour l'Égalité des Femmes et des Hommes, 2007 1976 in case law 1976 in the European Economic Community European Union labour case law

Facts

Judgment

Significance

See also

References and sources

External links