欧盟法院关于肥胖歧视的裁决及其启示——以FOA诉KL案为例

The Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union on Obesity Discrimination and its Enlightenment——Taking FOA v. KL as an Example

肥胖已经成为一个全球性健康议题,而肥胖歧视也正在成为一个急需解决的人权问题。在FOA诉KL案中,欧盟法院通过初裁程序对肥胖歧视进行了回应。欧盟法院认为,肥胖并不属于欧盟反歧视法律中的一项法定保护事由,但这并不意味着肥胖人群不受法律保护。在特定情况下,肥胖可能对一个人的身体、精神或心理产生一种“限制”,这种限制与各种障碍相互作用,可能会长期阻碍其与其他劳动者平等参与职业生活,因此肥胖在某些情况下可以由《就业框架指令》中的“残疾”概念涵盖。为了实现就业平等,欧盟法院采用了《残疾人权利公约》中关于“残疾”的概念,有限度地将“肥胖歧视”纳入“残疾歧视”的保护范围。从尊重与保障人权出发,中国可以借鉴欧盟的经验,逐步将肥胖歧视纳入司法救济途径。

Obesity has become a global health issue, and obesity discrimination is becoming an urgent human rights issue. In the case Fag og Arbejde (FOA) v. Kommunernes Landsforening (KL), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU or the Court) responded to obesity discrimination through a preliminary ruling procedure. Finding that there is no general prohibition on obesity discrimination in the employment context, CJEU nevertheless considers that in some cases, obese people can be protected by law. In the event that, under given circumstances, the obesity of the worker concerned entails a limitation which results in particular from physical, mental or psychological impairments that in interaction with various barriers may hinder the full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers, and the limitation is a long-term one, obesity can be covered by the concept of ‘disability’ within the meaning of Directive 2000/78. In order to achieve equality in employment, CJEU adopted the concept of “disability” in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and limitedly included “obesity discrimination” into the scope of “disability discrimination”. From the perspective of respecting and safeguarding human rights, China can learn from the experience of the EU and gradually incorporate obesity discrimination into judicial remedies.