Constitutional Principles and Horizontal Effect: Kücükdeveci Revisited

Abstract

Analyses the European Court of Justice ruling in Kucukdeveci v Swedex GmbH & Co KG (C-555/07) on whether the German Civil Code s.622, providing that an employee's length of service before the age of 25 was irrelevant to the calculation of the minimum notice period to be provided before redundancy dismissal, breached the prohibition of age discrimination deriving either from Directive 2000/78 or the general principles of EU law. Considers the extent to which the ruling clarifies Mangold v Helm (C-144/04) on the effects of Directives expressing constitutional principles in horizontal cases.