Article 21 - Non-discrimination
Article 26 - Integration of persons with disabilities
Key facts of the case:
Request for a preliminary ruling from the Varhoven administrativen sad. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Social policy – Equal treatment in employment and occupation – Directive 2000/78/EC – Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of disability – Article 2(2)(a) – Article 4(1) – Article 5 – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 21 and 26 – United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Duties of juror in criminal proceedings – Blind person – Total exclusion from participation in criminal proceedings.
Outcome of the case:
On those grounds, the Court (Second Chamber) hereby rules:
Article 2(2)(a) and Article 4(1) of Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, read in the light of Articles 21 and 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, approved on behalf of the European Community by Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009, must be interpreted as meaning that they preclude that a blind person be totally deprived of any possibility of performing the duties of a juror in criminal proceedings.
29) In that context, having regard to the rules of criminal procedure, the referring court notes that it is not clear whether the unequal treatment of a person such as VA, with a disability such as blindness, in the pursuit of the activity of juror, is lawful in the light of the provisions contained in the UN Convention, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’), and Directive 2000/78, which seek to ensure equal treatment in employment and occupation for people with disabilities.
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31) As a preliminary point, it should be noted that, although the referring court did not make reference in the wording of its questions to the provisions of the Charter, that court raises questions, as is apparent from the reference for a preliminary ruling, regarding the compatibility of excluding a blind person, such as VA, from performing duties as a juror in criminal proceedings, with regard to the provisions of the Directive 2000/78, the UN Convention and the Charter.
32) It should be remembered that that directive is a specific expression, within the field that it covers, of the general principle of non-discrimination now enshrined in Article 21 of the Charter (judgment of 26 January 2021, Szpital Kliniczny im. dra J. Babińskiego Samodzielny Publiczny Zakład Opieki Zdrowotnej w Krakowie, C‑16/19, EU:C:2021:64, paragraph 33 and the case-law cited).
33) Moreover, Article 26 of the Charter provides that the European Union is to recognise and respect the right of persons with disabilities to benefit from measures designed to ensure their independence, social and occupational integration and participation in the life of the community.
34) In those circumstances, it must be held that, by its questions, which should be examined together, the referring court asks, in essence, whether Article 2(2) and Article 4(1) of Directive 2000/78, read in the light of Articles 21 and 26 of the Charter and of the UN Convention, must be interpreted as totally excluding a blind person from any opportunity to perform duties as a juror in criminal proceedings.
58) That obligation must be read in the light of Article 26 of the Charter, which sets out the principle of the integration of persons with disabilities, so that they benefit from measures designed to ensure their independence, social and occupational integration and participation in the life of the community.
64) Having regard to the foregoing, the answer to the questions raised is that Article 2(2)(a) and Article 4(1) of the Directive 2000/78, read in the light of Articles 21 and 26 of the Charter and of the UN Convention, must be interpreted as meaning that they preclude that a blind person be totally deprived of any possibility of performing the duties of a juror in criminal proceedings.
