59Lastly, as regards the period between the registration of the life partnership of the applicant in the main proceedings, on 15 October 2001, and the expiry of the period for transposition of Directive 2000/78, it should be recalled that the Council of the European Union adopted Directive 2000/78 on the basis of Article 13 EC, and the Court has held that the Directive does not itself lay down the principle of equal treatment in the field of employment and occupation, which derives from various international instruments and from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, but has the sole purpose of laying down, in that field, a general framework for combating discrimination on various grounds (see Mangold, paragraph 74, and Case C-555/07 Kücükdeveci [2010] ECR I-365, paragraph 20), including sexual orientation.
Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.