Intersektionelle Diskriminierung vor dem Europäischen Gerichtshof – Ein erster verfehlter Versuch? Urteil des Europäischen Gerichtshofs vom 24.11. 2016 – Rechtssache Parris

This case note analyses the ECJ's Parris ruling, which failed to recognise discrimination on the combined grounds of homosexuality and age in the refusal to recognise widower pension rights for homosexual partners of employees at Trinity College Dublin due to the late recognition of homosexual partnerships under Irish law. It draws a parallel to the DeGraffenreid case decided in the US in the 1970s, which also refused to recognise combined discrimination of black women by a "last hired first fired" redundancy policy. That policy mainly worked to the detriment of black women, while neither white women nor black men were disproportionally affected. Equally, the combination of an upper age limit for accessing a widowers pension and the lateness of accepting homosexual partnerships in Irish law only affected homosexual partners of a certain age group. The case note argues that in refusing to recognise combined discrimination, the Court of Justice also failed to comprehend the relevance of intersectionality for the correct interpretation of EU anti-discrimination law.