Equality Principles and Institutionalism: Judicial Spill-Overs and Dialogues

Another promising venue to be examined further lies in legal hierarchies and judicial dialogue among these institutions—indeed, principlisation processes and the construction and adherence to human rights takes place at different levels. A multiplicity of factors including the specific interpretative powers operating, their specific competences, surrounding political contexts, and regional integration play into this. Cross-jurisdictional dialogue thereby becomes an important component to be considered when examining equality. Being considered a foundational value in EU primary law, equality is necessarily studied in the context of Equality Bodies and other forms of equality institutionalism, situated between two opposing directions, human rights conservatism and responsive governance. An issue meriting particular attention in that regard concerns multiple grounds and even intersecting manifestations of equality as well as their social complexity, these being addressed by Equality Bodies. Critical voices however draw our attention to their prospective politization, stressing the importance of their independence.