The Danish Supreme Court’s Ajos judgment (Dansk Industri): Rejecting a Consistent Interpretation and Challenging the Effect of a General Principle of EU Law in the Danish Legal Order

Abstract

The Danish Supreme Court rejects a consistent interpretation of national law. This outcome is not beyond dispute, but is not clearly in violation with the court’s EU law obligations. It also refuses to disapply the incompatible national provision on the basis of the general principle of EU law prohibiting discrimination on grounds of age. Thereby the ECJ’s preliminary ruling in the case is disregarded and the Danish Supreme Court’s reasoning is problematic from the perspective of EU law.