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Legal Mobilization, Transnational Activism, and Gender Equality in the EU

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2013

Rachel A. Cichowski
Rachel A. Cichowski*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Law, Societies and Justice Program, University of Washington
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Abstract

This article examines how EU rights and laws serve as legal opportunity structures for women’s rights activists in Europe. Further, it examines what effects this transnational activism has on the permanence and inclusion of public interests and gender equality in EU legal and political processes. The analysis examines the legal domain of EU women’s rights over a thirty-year period. Methodologically, the study relies on case law analysis, primary document collections, and interviews with non-governmental organizations and governmental elites at both the EU and the national level. I ask how legal mobilization can serve as a catalyst for institutional change (by influencing litigation and legislative action), and how this effects subsequent EU-level women’s rights mobilization and public inclusion.

Résumé

Le présent article examine comment les droits et les lois de l’UE servent de structures juridiques offrant des possibilités aux militantes des droits de la femme en Europe. De plus, il examine les effets de cet activisme transnational sur la permanence et l’inclusion des domaines d’intérêt public et de l’égalité entre les sexes dans les processus juridiques et politiques de l’UE. La présente analyse examine le domaine juridique des droits de la femme dans l’UE pendant une période de trente ans. Sur le plan méthodologique, l’étude repose sur des analyses de la jurisprudence, sur des recueils de documents de base, et des entrevues avec des organisations non gouvernementales et des élites gouvernementales, à la fois au niveau national et à celui de l’UE. Je demande comment la mobilisation juridique peut servir de catalyseur pour un changement institutionnel (en influençant les procédures judiciaires et les actes législatifs) et comment cela touche au niveau de l’UE la mobilisation pour les droits de la femme et l’inclusion publique subséquentes.

Keywords

Legal mobilizationECJEU gender equality policyEuropean women’s groupslegal integrationMobilisation juridiqueSJPUE politique sur l’égalité entre les sexesgroupes de femmes européensintégration juridique
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société , Volume 28 , Special Issue 2: Gender Equality, Legal Mobilization, and Feminism in a Multilevel European System , August 2013 , pp. 209 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Law and Society Association / Association Canadienne Droit et Société 2013 

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References

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8 The data sets are compiled from the EU Commission’s Transparency Registrar, which contains detailed information on the individuals, groups, and organizations who interact with EU policy institutions. There is clearly a methodological bias towards well-established organizations, as the registrar only includes those organizations that were visibly present in Brussels and actively engaged with EU institutions. The registrar can be accessed at: http://europa.eu/transparency-register/index_en.htm.

9 The data and analyses in this article extend the time period and build on research published in Cichowski, The European Court and Civil Society.

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12 In 1967, Vogel-Polsky published an article in a Belgian legal journal suggesting that individuals should be able to utilize Article 157 before national courts against member states that had failed to implement the principle in national law (“L’Article 119 du Traité de Rome peut-il être considéré comme self-executing? » Journal des Tribunaux, 15 April 1967). Vogel-Polsky began looking for a test case, and with little interest from the trade unions, ultimately found her case in the private sector: a stewardess, Gabrielle Defrenne, employed by Sabena Airlines (interview as cited in Hoskyns, Catherine, Integrating Gender: Women, Law and Politics in the European Union (London: Verso, 1996)Google Scholar, 68).

13 For a more detailed discussion of this case law see Cichowski, The European Court and Civil Society; Case 43/75 Defrenne II [1976] ECR 455; Case 149/77 Defrenne III [1978] ECR 1365.

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16 See discussion in Cichowski, The European Court and Civil Society. For example, the ECJ pregnancy case law including Case C-411/96 Boyle [1998] ECR 6401 and Case C-66/96 Pedersen [1998] ECR 7327.

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20 Council Directive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978, OJ L6.

21 Hoskyns, Integrating Gender: Women, Law and Politics in the European Union, 99.

22 Centre for Research on European Women (CREW), CREW Reports 11, no. 5 (Brussels: CREW Publications, 1983).

23 Commission of the European Communities, Women of Europe, No. 6/78 (Brussels: 1978).

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29 Case 129/79 Macarthys [1980] ECR 12.

30 Case 14/83 Von Colson [1986] ECR 1891.

31 Case 12/54 Danfoss [1989] ECR 345.

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38 See CREW (1985).

39 First Report of the Network Experts, V/564/84-EN, Commission of the European Communities, 1984.

40 For example, Commission of the European Communities, Report of a Comparative Analysis of the Provisions for Legal Redress in Member States of the EC in Respect of Art 119 of the Treaty of Rome and the Equal Pay and Equal Treatment Directives (Brussels: 1984); Commission of the European Communities, Sex Equality Litigation in the Member States of the EC: A Comparative Study (Brussels: 1993, 1995).

41 Case 262/88 Barber [1990] ECR 1889.

42 The Barber decision, which in effect provided the direct effect of Article 157 (TFEU) in the pension sphere, was met with extreme criticism from member states who realized the costs involved with such a judgment. A host of Article 267 litigation followed (e.g., Moroni ECJ 1993b; Ten Oever ECJ 1993c; Neath 1993d, to name just a few). And subsequent EU legislative acts included an unprecedented Treaty revision (the Barber Protocol) and an amended Directive, (Council Directive 96/97/EC amending Directive 86/378/EEC).

43 Case C-450/93 Kalanke [1995] ECR 3051.

44 Case C-177/88 Dekker [1990] ECR 3941.

45 Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992, OJ L 648/1.

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47 Case C-147/02 Alabaster [2004] ECR 3101.

48 Case C-342/01 Gómez [2004] ECR 2605.

49 Case C-506/06 Sabine Mayr [2008] ECR 73.

50 Case C-249/96 Grant [1998] ECR 346.

51 Case C-13/94 P v. S and Cornwall County Council [1996] ECR 2143.

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53 Case C-285/98 Kreil [2000] ECR 69.

54 Council Directive 92/85/EEC on pregnancy and maternity; Council Directive 96/34/EC on parental leave; Council Directive 96/97/EC on equal treatment in social security; Council Directive 97/75/EC extending parental leave directive to UK; Council Directive 97/80/ED on burden of proof in sex discrimination cases; Council Directive 98/52/EC extending burden of proof directive to UK; Council and Parliament Directive 2002/73/EC updating 1976 equal treatment directive; Council and Parliament Directive 2004/113/EC equal treatment in access to goods and services; Council and Parliament Directive 2006/54/EC known as the “recast directive” brought together previous gender equality directives and ECJ case law in a way that “recast” or clarified this body of law into a single text.

55 Commission of the European Communities, Incorporating Equal Opportunities for Women and Men into all Community Policies and Activities 96/67 (Brussels: 1996).

56 Cynthia Cockburn, “Gender in an International Space: Trade Union Women as European Social Actor,” Women’s Studies International Forum 20, no. 4 (1997): 463.

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60 ENGENDER was established in Brussels in 1996 and is a group of ten individuals working on common projects in the area of “equality and participation.” The group of consultants has performed both individual and collaborative research projects for the Commission on such subjects as “Structural Funds and Equal Opportunities” and “Women in the Judiciary.” Interview with ENGENDER member, Brussels, June 2001.

61 Case C-450/93 Kalanke [1995] ECR 3051.

62 For example, see Prechal, “Kalanke Ruling,” Common Market Law Review 33 (1996): 45, and Szyszczak, Erika, “Positive Action after Kalanke, ” Modern Law Review 59 (1996): 6 Google Scholar, to name just a few.

63 Commission of the European Communities, Incorporating Equal Opportunities for Women and Men into all Community Policies and Activities 96/ 67 (Brussels: 1996). Positive action had long been a policy focus for the EWL; thus, this ruling came in stark contrast to the policy agenda they had hoped would develop at the European level.

64 Case C-409/95 Marschall [1997] ECR 6363. Similar to the Kalanke case, this preliminary reference originated from a German court and involved a male job candidate disputing the decision to hire a female for the position.