''Defrenne v Sabena (No 2)'' (1976)
is a foundational
European Union law case, concerning
direct effect and the
European Social Charter 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, 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 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 (TFEU) – prior to the Lisbon Treaty, this was article 141
TEC).
Judgment
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 ...
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, 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.
See also
* ''
P v S and Cornwall County Council''
*
United Kingdom labour law
*
European labour law
References and sources
;References
;Sources
*
{{refend
External links
*
Éliane Gubin''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