The Finnish legal system is based on statute law. Finland follows a dualist approach to international law. The Government has the right of legislative initiative, although legislative proposals submitted by MPs may be adopted. In addition, a citizens' initiative, allowing citizens to make...

Latvia is a parliamentary State, where Parliament is the only legislator. This legislator, however, has the right to delegate legislative functions to the Cabinet of Ministers and to municipalities. Delegated legislative powers always have to be made explicit in the laws adopted by Parliament....

Greece is a parliamentary republic. The Greek legal order has a strict hierarchical structure provided by the Constitution, which is written and rigid and prevails over statutes. According to Article 28(1) of the Constitution, international treaties introduced into the Greek legal order by...

The laws transposing Directives 2000/78 and 2000/43 allow for differential treatment based on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation when the nature of the occupational activities or the context within which these are carried out is...

In Belgium, which has a population of 11 million, the main religion is Roman Catholicism (50 %). Other religious groups are Muslims (5 %), Anglicans, Protestant and Orthodox Christians (2.5 %), persons of Jewish faith (0.4 %) and Buddhists (0.3 %). In addition, nearly 42 % of people identified...

The Finnish constitution includes the following articles dealing with non-discrimination. Section 6(1) of the Constitution is a general clause: 'Everyone is equal before the law'. Section 6(2) defines the prohibition of discrimination and the protected grounds: 'No one shall, without an...

The general principles of equality and non-discrimination in Estonian law can be found in the Constitution (primarily in Article 12). The Equal Treatment Act includes detailed definitions of direct and indirect discrimination, and harassment. In the Equal Treatment Act, provisions regarding...