Rethinking likeness and comparability in equality claims brought before the European Court of Human Rights

Treating like cases alike is not necessarily as restrictive a formula as is often understood to be; neither does the comparator requirement have to be one of the problematic aspects of applying that formula. Much depends on how we choose to interpret the notion of likeness. This paper aims to propose an interpretation that is based not on the similarity of the situations, but on the similarity of the claims at hand. It does so with reference to the relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. The basic goal is to demonstrate that such an alternative understanding of what likeness entails can prove particularly helpful both in terms of comprehending previous instances of the case-law of the Court as well as in terms of allowing for a more principled approach to prevail in the future.