Paper Titles & Abstracts

Based on research into sex equality law in the Czech Republic, the paper explores how post-communist member states might have different needs with regards to equality and antidiscrimination law than their Western counterparts. Arguably, Western European anti-discrimination has moved from a 'formal' emphasis on elimination of 'different treatment' to a 'substantive' or 'transformative' understanding of equality. The paper argues that the development in the East was in many ways opposite to the West, and it can therefore be seen as 'out of sync' with the West. Under State Socialism, equality was 'substantive'- context-based and striving for real-life equality -, as well as 'transformative' in the socio-economic sense. However, 1) it was redistributive only - not concerned with cultural harms and bias -; 2) it saw class, but not other discrimination grounds; and 3) an enforceable antidiscrimination right was missing. The paper argues that all of these deficiencies have been largely carried over into Transition. Although EU equality acquis was reluctantly transposed, it is not being effectively implemented, especially since cultural bias and structural disadvantage remain unseen.The paper will suggest possible lessons for EU equality and antidiscrimination law: - Specific measures need to be kept, as they can't be replaced by gender-mainstreaming.- The antidiscrimination rights agenda is still important and should continue to be pushed alongside more 'social policy'.- Attention should be paid to implementation in the broad sense - not just transposition, but application and enforcement too. - Emphasis should continue to be put on hard law.