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This paper is a study of the legislation, case law and literature which is related to AGG(the General Equal Treatment Act), esp. in the area of labor law, in the Federal Republic of Germany. The aim of the AGG is to prevent and eliminate discrimination particularly in employment and occupation on the basis of racial or ethnic origin, age or sexual orientation. In this respect the prohibition of discrimination and concretizing or supporting rules of the General Equal Treatment Act have preventive function, on the one hand, and fulfil on the other hand repressive measure for eliminating existing and continually effecting discrimination. But in exceptional cases discrimination on the basis of features prescribed in § 1 AGG can be justified. Conditions of the exceptional cases mentioned in § 1 AGG are uniformly regulated in § 8 AGG. According to this regulation, unequal treatment doesn’t constitute discrimination, if the features concerned constitute essential and crucial occupational requirement owing to the nature of the duties and the purpose and the requirements are legitimate and adequate. If a different treatment under § 8 para. 1 AGG is justified, it is not illegal, i.e. not against the prohibition of discrimination under § 7 para. 1 AGG in these cases and thus is not entitled to compensation for damages. The §§ 8 to 10 AGG lay down rules for permissible discrimination on the ground mentioned in § 1 AGG in the area of professional and working life. In § 8 AGG a general clause regulates the permissible discrimination due to work requirements. In this study it is determined, under what conditions unequal treatment based on characteristics listed in § 1 AGG can be justified and how far the exception of non-discrimination reaches. It prevails neither in the case law nor in the literature, but there is consensus about cases in which discrimination can be justified. These particular cases require definition of permissible or impermissible grounds of justification. Previous judgments and the various opinions used in the literature are taken into consideration in order to clarify this issue.