Denmark’s Supreme Court is preparing to rule on the country’s controversial parallel societies law, after hearing arguments that the legislation led to residents being evicted from social housing because of their ethnic background.
Lawyers for the tenants, the housing association and the state argued for two days in court between 6 and 9 November 2026. A panel of seven Supreme Court judges will now decide the case, with the judgement expected on 23 November.
FAKTA
- Case: Whether Denmark’s parallel societies legislation amounts to ethnic discrimination
- Court: Denmark’s Supreme Court, with a panel of seven judges
- Hearing: Two days of arguments between 6 and 9 November 2026
- Verdict expected: 23 November 2026
- Claimants: Seven families, former residents of the Nøjsomhed housing estate in Helsingør
- The law: Introduced in 2018, once known as the “ghetto law”, now called the parallel societies law
- People affected: About 11,000 people across Denmark could have to leave their homes by 2030, according to tenants’ associations
- European ruling: The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in December 2025 that the law’s non-Western criterion could constitute discrimination based on ethnic origin
What the Parallel Societies Law Does
The legislation classifies neighbourhoods using socioeconomic indicators alongside the proportion of immigrants and their descendants from what the state refers to as “non-Western” countries. Any non-profit housing area with more than 1,000 residents, where half of them are classified as non-Western, can be designated a “parallel society”.
Areas given the designation must cut public family housing to 40 percent by 2030 through sales, demolition or conversion. Every year, on 1 December, the Danish government publishes a list of the areas that qualify. The government says the policy was designed to encourage integration and to prevent large concentrations of people with a migrant background from gathering on estates.
The Case Before the Court
Former residents of Nøjsomhed, a housing estate in Helsingør, north of Copenhagen, have argued that their landlord selected buildings for redevelopment to reduce the number of residents classified as having a non-Western background. Their leases were terminated in 2022 under the 2018 law.
The tenants argue they were forced from their homes because of where they, or their parents, come from. The state argues the measures are necessary to eliminate segregated areas and foster integration, and that the law is aimed at integration rather than at any ethnic group.
What Europe’s Top Court Has Already Said
The Danish proceedings follow a significant judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union in December 2025. In Case C-417/23, concerning Denmark’s public housing legislation, the EU court clarified that the use of the non-Western population criterion could constitute discrimination based on ethnic origin.
The EU court left the final assessment of discrimination to the Danish judiciary, making the current Supreme Court proceedings an important domestic test of the EU ruling. The ruling came in cases brought by tenants from Mjølnerparken in Copenhagen and Schackenborgvænget in Slagelse. The Mjølnerparken case is still before the Eastern High Court.
Why the Ruling Matters Beyond Denmark
The dispute highlights a broader European debate about the relationship between immigration policy, social integration and fundamental rights. Denmark has pursued a restrictive approach to immigration for decades, while successive governments have presented the parallel societies legislation as a means of preventing residential segregation and strengthening social cohesion.
The government has not changed the law. In January, the then minister for social affairs and housing told a parliamentary hearing that authorities must keep applying the law until the courts rule.
Conclusion
Whatever the seven judges decide on 23 November, the ruling will shape the future of Denmark’s most contested integration policy. If the court finds discrimination, the state would have to halt forced evictions in designated areas and revise its approach to urban integration. If it upholds the law, the redevelopment of estates such as Nøjsomhed will continue towards the 2030 deadline.
