Igualdad y no discriminación

Glor, was declared unfit for mandatory military service or the alternative civil service offered to conscientious objector due to diabetes. He was ordered to pay a tax for exemption from military service, as he fell below the 40% disabled threshold for exemption from the tax. The tax was for a non-negligible amount assessed over several years. Glor claimed a violation of his rights under Article 14 in conjunction with Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights for discrimination on the basis of a disability.

The Higher Social Court of North Rhine-Westphalia asked the German Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether the cash benefits for asylum seekers provided under section 3 paragraph 2 of the Asylum Seekers Benefit Act comply with the constitutional right to a minimum standard of living.

R.K.B.’s employer accused her of having an affair with a male colleague and dismissed her from the position but did not dismiss the male colleague, and threatened to “spread rumours about her relationships with other men” to pressure her to sign a document, attesting that she had been paid all her benefits upon termination. R.K.B. presented a claim to the Committee, alleging that her employer, a hairdressing salon, had unfairly terminated her contract of employment based on gender stereotypes.

The Brazilian Federal Supreme Court unanimously decided to uphold the constitutionality of racial quotas in University admission processes, in order to create a diverse academic environment, to overcome a history of racial discrimination in Brazil, and to promote the principle of de facto equality as applied to racial discrimination in education.  In addition, the Court addressed issues of proportionality and reasonability as criteria to assess the constitutionality of policies aimed at achieving racial equality.