Nicolosi & Ertuna Lagrand, ‘Integrating Gender Equality into International Refugee Law: The Contribution of the Court of Justice of the European Union’, 2026

Salvatore Fabio Nicolosi, Türkan Ertuna Lagrand, ‘Integrating Gender Equality into International Refugee Law: The Contribution of the Court of Justice of the European Union’, European Journal of International Law, 2026;, chag009, https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chag009

Abstract

This article sheds light on the role played by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in clarifying and expanding the scope of European Union (EU) asylum legislation to accommodate gender-related claims. Through an integrated analysis of the Court’s landmark rulings in the cases of Afghan women (A.H. and F.N.), gender equality (K., L.) and women victims of domestic violence (W.S.), the article argues that the CJEU innovates the approach to refugee protection by taking three progressive stances: (i) integrating the concept of systematic discrimination into EU asylum law for the conceptualization of women as a particular social group; (ii) applying the axiological relevance of gender equality for the construction of such a distinct social group; and (iii) easing the procedural requirement for the individualized assessment of women’s claims in refugee status determination procedures. Accordingly, the article pursues a twofold goal. First, it explains that a gender-based reading of refugee law is necessary to fulfil the concept of effective protection mandated by international and European refugee law and that the CJEU has followed this path to strengthen the protection of women in refugee law. Second, it shows that the three judgments make an invaluable contribution to further integrating gender equality and mainstreaming within refugee law.