Abstract
European Community law applies to the 25 Member States of the European Union and to the EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). An important source of this supra-national law is the case law of the European Court of Justice, which contributes actively to the promotion of social rights. The broad selection of cases presented in this article shows how the Court has interpreted Community instruments on equal pay, statutory and occupational pensions and equal treatment to settle litigation over the discriminatory effects - both direct and indirect - of national social security systems that were historically constructed around the "male breadwinner" model.