P v S and Cornwall County Council [1996] ECR I – 2143 , Case C-13_94

Decision of the European Court of Justice, reaffirming the prohibition of dismissal from employment on the basis of a person’s gender identity, as guaranteed under a Council Directive

The European Court of Justice case concerned the interpretation of a Council Directive prohibiting sex discrimination in employment. The Court held that the Directive prohibited dismissal from employment on the basis of a person’s gender identity, stating that ‘to tolerate such discrimination would be tantamount, as regards such a person, to a failure to respect the dignity and freedom to which he or she is entitled, and which the Court has a duty to safeguard’.