Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights lists the prohibited grounds against which discrimination in illegal.
The text states that"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in [the] Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, color, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.
[1][2] In the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the interpretation of the article has expanded over time to include indirect discrimination.
[4][5] In early cases before the European Court of Human Rights the court assumed that for Article 14 to be relevant, a breach of one of the substantive Convention rights had to have occurred.
[7] According to the court's case law, any difference in treatment based on fixed status must be proportional to the justified aims pursued and the margin of appreciation has especially narrowed with regard to different treatment based exclusively on ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.