Proportionality and the Right to Equality

This article focuses on the overlap and interaction between the doctrine of proportionality and other doctrines used to assess the constitutionality of state violations of the right to equality

shutterstock

By examining the application of the proportionality framework in the context of alleged violations of the right to equality by courts in Canada, Germany, Israel and South Africa as well as by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the difficulties in trying to apply the doctrine of proportionality to alleged violations of the right to equality are exposed. The article points to two main models for dealing with these difficulties, showing that each court's choice of model is relevant to the ongoing debate over the advantages and disadvantages of the proportionality doctrine itself.

This article was published online by German Law Journal.