Enforcement of Belgian non-discrimination law in employment – enhancing the legal framework for evidence, proof and sanctions

Discrimination in employment is ubiquitous. Belgian non-discrimination legislation, inspired by European directives, aims to bring discrimination in society to a halt and provide possibilities for enforcement when discrimination arises. The research is about this second goal, more specifically about a balanced individual enforcement of non-discrimination law in court proceedings. The hypothesis is (and has been confirmed by several evaluations of the law) that the system of evidence (which material elements to bring to court to convince the judge), proof (the rules the judge applies to decide how these material elements can lead to a convincing conclusion in one or the other direction) and remedies/sanctions doesn’t function as it should. Firstly, it isn’t always clear which material evidence will be accepted or how a party can get their hands on evidence that often resides in the hands of the other party. Secondly, judges often misapply rules regarding the burden of proof. Thirdly, the sanctions and remedies foreseen by law generally don’t meet the conditions set out for them by the Court of Justice of the EU: effectiveness, proportionality and dissuasiveness. The main research question then is: how to enhance the legal framework for evidence, proof and remedies in Belgian employment discrimination law to guarantee a balanced individual enforcement? This question will be answered through literature analysis, comparative legal research and empirical legal research.