The European Convention on Human Rights does not contain a general
prohibition of discrimination. Article 14 is accessory to the Convention’s
other substantive guarantees and has no independent existence, with the result
that certain forms of discrimination cannot be brought within its ambit. In
order to cure this defect, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
has adopted Protocol 12 which provides for a general prohibition of
discrimination. However, the UK Government has declared that it has no
immediate plans to sign and ratify Protocol 12. After outlining the scope of
Article 14 with reference to recent Strasbourg and domestic case-law and
explaining the main provisions of the new Protocol, this article offers a
critique of the Government’s positio
