The principle and its challengers

The constitutions of many countries proclaim a principle of equality before the law or non-discrimination, or at least a general principle of equality. There is no British Constitution as such, but (as we saw in Chapter 2.7 above) the Human Rights Act 1998 brings into UK law most articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 14 declares that the enjoyment of all the rights declared in the Convention shall be secured ‘without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status’. This is not a general principle of non-discrimination, since it applies only to discrimination in respect of rights declared in the Convention, but it is nevertheless important. Protocol 12 to the Convention includes substantive and broader protection against discrimination, but it does not bind a member state unless that state ratifies it.

In English law the Equality Act 2006 now establishes a general legal anti-discrimination framework, monitored by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Section 52(1) of the Act states that ‘it is unlawful for a public authority exercising a function to do any act that constitutes discrimination’, and s. 8(1) requires the Commission to ‘promote understanding of the importance of equality and diversity’, among other objectives.