In 1992, Croatia was recognised by the UN as an independent state. From 1991 to 1995 Croatia was in a state of war. After a period of rather authoritarian leadership and isolation from the international community, Croatia changed direction in the late nineties. Croatia has been a Member State of...

There have been great social and political changes in Spain over the past 45 years. Major transformations have taken place in the country's social structure, forming a much more diverse society in ethnic and religious (and other) terms. Two of the major interrelated changes have been a...

As Turkey is not a member of the European Union, Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC have not been transposed or implemented. The Law on the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey (No. 6701), the anti-discrimination law adopted in 2016, prohibits direct, indirect and multiple...

The German legal system is a federal, statutory law system. The centre of legal thought and practice is the parliamentary statute (although the practice - as we will see - is far more differentiated and fuzzy). The system is hierarchical: federal law takes precedence over state law, and every...

The United Kingdom (UK) comprises England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (NI), with the term Great Britain (GB) used to refer to England, Wales and Scotland. The UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020, with EU law continuing to apply in the UK until the end of the transition period on...

Italy is a country made up of 20 regions, each with its own traditions and history. The main differences, in terms of working conditions, job opportunities and the quality of public services (education, healthcare and transport), are between the northern and southern regions. The family is at...

The key to the French legal approach to racism and discrimination is the abstract, universalist, formal concept of equality, enshrined in a range of instruments, including the Constitutions of 1946 and 1958. As a result, the legal framework has developed along two complementary lines: the...

Due to several factors, which include the low level of legal awareness in Polish society; people's passivity (and sometimes fear) around seeking to uphold their rights; and a lack of systematic research, it is impossible to assess the real scale of discrimination in Poland. Research commissioned...

Lithuania regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. The current Constitution was approved by referendum in 1992. On 1 May 2004 Lithuania joined the European Union, requiring significant changes to be made to the legal system in little over a decade to meet EU and international...