Martijn van den Brink

Great news for everyone who would like to participate in the ELU-S conference but didn't find the time in recent weeks to initiate a panel or submit a paper - the submission deadline has been extended to 15 April!!

This is a screenshot of the abstract of Nozizwe's article published in the Common Market Law Review, titled "A Typology of Comparators and Comparisons in EU Equality Law". The abstract is as follows: "Comparison plays a sacramental role within EU equality law. However, comparison also deflects EU equality law from its main task: identifying and dismantling systems of marginalization that cause discrimination. This article disrupts the prevailing narrative about comparison as an inescapable feature of equality analysis. A closer look at comparison reveals its objective veneer that conceals its commitment to sustaining a formal model of equality. This makes equality law an assimilationist, instead of an inclusive device. By deviating from comparison, EU equality law can advance towards an inclusive understanding of equality that centres intersectionality. The key therefore lies in the development of comparator-free equality analysis, which relies on the understanding that discrimination is contingent on unequal power and resource distribution, creating systems of marginalization. Hence, instead of comparing a claimant to a decontextualized intercategorical or intracategorical comparator, comparator-free analysis conducts a dignitary harm assessment whereby discrimination is contextualized in the past and contemporary patterns of disadvantage underlying it to establish a prima facie case of discrimination."

Equality law is an inherently comparative framework, as a claimant must compare themselves to a comparator to establish a presumption of discrimination.
What types of comparisons are used in equality claims? Is relying on comparators desirable in equality law?
My piece discussing this is out:

The call for papers for the ELU-S inaugural conference is out!

More information on how to submit your abstracts is available here: europeanlawunbound.eu/annual-confe...

We look forward to receiving your paper and panel submissions and seeing you in Prague!

Getting started on BlueSky with our call for papers for the 2025 EuConst Symposium, which we will host at Luiss University in the beautiful city of Rome on June 24. We welcome abstracts on any theme of European and comparative constitutional law. Application deadline March 3.

YouTube video by ELU-S Why the European Law Unbound Society?

Why do we need a new academic society for scholars interested in law in Europe? We've asked Gráinne de Búrca to share her thoughts on this question. See the video 👇

This is the first in a series of videos we will upload before the launch of the Call for Papers in a few weeks. Please stay tuned!

On First View: @dionkramer.bsky.social on the ways EU Law impacts on local efforts to keep cities from being Airbnbanised. Just wonderful work.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

European Law Unbound Society – ELU-S Elevate your business with Avada Corporation. Create a professional, dynamic WordPress website tailored to meet your corporate needs and impress clients.

And we have a website 😍👇

europeanlawunbound.eu

New features will be added in the new year, including a membership area, but information about ELU-S and the inaugural conference is already available online!

Here's a little foretaste of the program of our inaugural conference in Prague on Sept. 25-27, 2025.

Věra Jourová will give the keynote speech. In addition, we have put together four exciting panels with wonderful speakers 👇

@marijabartl.bsky.social @candidaleone.bsky.social

We're experimenting a new marketing technique- sending out notice of our latest issue to zero followers. What can go wrong?

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

New article out in European Law Open: 'Political, not (just) legal judgement: studying EU institutional balance'

The article is part of the Symposium "New Interdisciplinary Perspectives in EU Law" edited by @jamayoral.bsky.social Sabine Mair & Shai Dotan

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

@uvalawschool.bsky.social @martijnhesselink.bsky.social @diamondashiagbor.bsky.social @marijabartl.bsky.social @candidaleone.bsky.social

A new scholarly society focusing on European Law and Law in Europe has been launched.

See below for a save the date for the ELU-S inaugural conference

A call for papers and panels will be opened soon! Please share this information and follow the ELU-S Bluesky page for updates.

I highly recommend these books. Together, they greatly enhance our understanding of the institutional choices made in EU lawmaking and challenge some widely held beliefs about EU law. In my essay, I explain why.  

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Institutional Choice in the Internal Market Click on the article title to read more.

New OA publication, out now in the Modern Law Review!

In this essay, I review recent books by JanZglinski, VVelyvyte, and Ní Chaoimh, all three of which examine the institutional choices involved in the making of the internal market:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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🎃🦇 Join us on Halloween for our next European Governance Colloquium, where @svenschreurs.bsky.social will present his research on the EU Minimum Wage Directive.

Register here: www.delorscentre.eu/en/events-at...