The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Denmark's controversial "ghetto law" may be unlawful under EU race equality rules. The 2018 law allows Denmark to demolish or sell homes in areas with high numbers of non-Western residents and bad social conditions. It aims to cut social housing by 40% in these "transformation areas" by 2030. The ECJ flagged that the law increases the risk of eviction for people in these areas based on ethnic background compared to similar areas with fewer immigrants. The court said Danish judges must decide if the law results in unfair treatment based on ethnicity. Residents of the Mjølnerparken housing estate in Copenhagen, a symbol of the law's impact, had challenged it in Denmark since 2020. Over 1,000 people were forced to leave their homes, and rents rose sharply. Muhammad Aslam, chair of the residents' association, called the law "inhumane" and said, "It threw the families out from our homes when we have done nothing wrong." He said political hate speech against minorities worsened daily life. The Danish Institute for Human Rights sees the ECJ ruling as a strong sign the law may discriminate but noted the case is not over yet. Susheela Math from the NGO Systemic Justice called the decision "a day of reckoning for the Danish state" and said it highlights how political rhetoric can amount to racial discrimination. The Danish Ministry of Social Affairs said it will carefully review the ruling as the case moves back to Denmark’s eastern high court. Residents and activists are hopeful they will overturn the "ghetto law" in domestic courts next year.