Shift in the Burden of Proof – Mechanism to Ensure Enforcement of Anti-Discrimination Legislation

The inclusion of Article 141 (former Article 119 EEC) and Article 13 in the EC Treaty and the subsequent adoption of the gender and anti-discrimination Directives provides a comprehensive mechanism for addressing discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation accordingly. One of the central aims of these Directives is to widen and strengthen access to effective redress. As the practice reminds us, discrimination can be very difficult to prove, and that is why European Union Member States introduced a mechanism to shift the burden of proof from the claimant to the respondent. The shift in the burden of proof is one of the main mechanisms which aims to ensure adequate levels of enforcement across the board of the European Union and its correct application is imperative to ensure victims are not deprived of an effective means of enforcing th