''Johnston v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary'' (1986
Case 222/84
is a

UK labour law United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK have a minimum set of employment rights, from Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equity (legal concept), equity. ...

and

EU labour law European labour law regulates basic transnational standards of employment and partnership at work in the European Union and countries adhering to the European Convention on Human Rights. In setting regulatory floors to competition for job-creatin ...

case concerning sex discrimination and genuine occupational requirements.

Facts

Ms Johnston was made redundant when her fixed term contract was not renewed. Women were prohibited from carrying firearms. But many police duties involved carrying firearms. The

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

argued the ban was justified because (1) they may be more frequent assassination targets (2) their guns could end in enemy hands (3) the public would object to it (4) it would hinder their jobs in social, family and children related work.

Judgment

The European Court of Justice held it was up to the Industrial Tribunal to determine whether art 2(2) (now art 14) applied ‘having regard to the specific duties which s Johnstonis required to carry out’ Referring to 'article 2(2) of the Directive, it should be observed that that provision, being a derogation from an individual right laid down in the directive must be interpreted strictly.’ However, looking at the context it cannot be excluded that there would be more risks if policewomen carried firearms. So that may be a determining factor, and if so the member state can place a restriction, which need periodic review under art 9(2). There must also be proportionality so ‘derogations remain within the limits of what is appropriate and necessary for achieving the aim in view and requires the principle of equal treatment’.

Notes

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References

* United Kingdom labour case law Court of Justice of the European Union case law 1986 in United Kingdom case law Royal Ulster Constabulary European Union labour case law

Facts

Judgment

See also

Notes

References